UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


THE  USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS 
IN  GROWING  ROSES 


BY  F.  W.  MUNCIE 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  FEBRUARY,  1917 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN  No.  196 

1.  Brown  silt  loam,  the  type  of  soil  at  the  Illinois   Station,   will  not  pro- 
duce a  maximum  crop  of  roses  without  fertilization.  Page  515 

2.  Grafted  stock  more  than  paid  for  the  increase  in  initial  cost  by  its  larger 
production  during  the  first  year.  Page  519 

3.  Dried  blood  in  amounts  exceeding  8  pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench 
space  caused   a   decrease  in   production   with   own-root   and   grafted   Brides   and 
grafted  Killarneys.  Page  520 

The  effect  of  dried  blood  upon  weekly  production  was  found  to  be  a  decrease 
during  fall  months,  no  difference  during  winter,  and  an  increase  in  the  spring. 

Page  528 

4.  Acid  phosphate  gave  a  greatly  increased  production  with  all  types  used 
in  the  experiment  except  grafted  Brides.  Page  521 

Further  experiments  showed  that  20  pounds  of  acid  phosphate  per  100  square 
feet  of  bench  space  gave  a  profit  of  $176  per  1,000  plants;  four  times  this  quantity 
may  be  used  without  injury  from  overfeeding.  Page  555 

The  beneficial  effect  was  continuous  thruout  the  year.  Page  557 

5.  No  benefit  was  obtained  from  the  use  of  potassium  sulfate  under  the  con- 
ditions of  the  experiment.  Pages  522-523 

6.  A  definite  relation  was  found  to  exist  between  the  variation  in  hours  of 
sunshine  and  the  subsequent  production  of  flowers.  Page  526 

7.  A  decrease  in  production  resulted  from  mixing  ground  limestone  with  the 
soil,  whether  or  not  acid  phosphate  had  been  added,  and  this  material  is  not  rec- 
ommended for  general  use.  Pages  561-562 

8.  CONCLUSIONS  AND  KECOMMENDATIONS.  Page  562 


THE  USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS 
IN  GROWING  ROSES 

BY  F.  W.  MTJNCIE,  ASSOCIATE  IN  FLORICULTURAL  CHEMISTRY 

Since  the  fall  of  1910,  experiments  have  been  carried  on  by  the 
Horticultural  Department  of  this  station  Avith  regard  to  the  use  of 
commercial  fertilizers  in  growing  first-year  roses.  The  commercial 
fertilizers  used  during  1910-13  were  dried  blood,  acid  phosphate,  and 
potassium  sulfate.  During  1913-15,  ammonium  sulfate  was  used 
instead  of  dried  blood.  Assuming,  as  is  ordinarily  done,  that  the 
element  deficient  in  the  soil  and  so  limiting  plant  growth  is  nitrogen, 
phosphorus,  or  potassium,  the  choice  of  fertilizers  (dried  blood  or 
ammonium  sulfate  supplying  nitrogen ;  acid  phosphate,  phosphorus ; 
and  potassium  sulfate,  potassium)  is  wide  enough  to  establish  the 
order  of  relative  abundance  of  the  elements  in  compounds  available  to 
the  plants,  and  to  form  a  basis  for  study  of  the  effect  of  these  fertilizers 
upon  yearly  and  weekly  production.1 

The  experimental  work  reported  in  this  bulletin  deals  with  a  gen- 
eral investigation  (1910-13)  with  each  of  the  three  fertilizers  men- 
tioned, alone  and  in  various  combinations,  and  a  supplementary  one 
upon  the  use  of  acid  phosphate  with  and  without  lime  (1913-15). 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  EXPERIMENT,  1910-13 

Bride  and  Killarney  were  the  varieties  grown,  the  first  being  a 
typical  tea  rose  and  the  latter  a  hybrid  tea;  half  the  plants  of  each 
variety  were  own-root  stock  and  half  were  grafted.  Under  the  con- 
ditions of  fertilizing  prescribed  by  the  plan  of  the  experiment,  com- 
parisons can  also  be  made  between  the  varieties  used  and  between 
own-root  and  grafted  stock. 

One  greenhouse  28  feet  by  105  feet,  containing  four  benches  4 
feet  wide.  100  feet  long,  and  5  inches  deep,  with  an  area  of  1,600 
square  feet,  was  used;  the  experiment  begun  in  1910-11  was  repeated 
during  1911-12  and  1912-13.  The  roses  propagated  about  December 
1  of  the  previous  year  were  successively  potted  into  2-inch  and  4-inch 
pots,  and  set  in  the  benches  about  July  10.  The  dates  of  setting  the 
plants  in  the  benches  were  as  follows:  July  6,  1910;  July  13,  1911 ; 
July  10,  1912. 

'In  ordinary  practice,  the  soil  used  in  growing  greenhouse  crops  is  partially 
or  entirely  replaced  each  year.  Also  the  gross  returns  with  the  average  crop 
grown  in  a  greenhouse  are  estimated  to  be  as  high  as  $40,000  per  year  per  acre 
of  enclosed  space.  T'nder  these  circumstances,  the  florist  is  concerned  with  pro- 
ducing the  maximum  crop  upon  the  soil  without  consideration  of  soil  depletion 
and  with  relatively  little  for  the  cost  of  the  fertilizer  used — always  a  small  item 
in  comparison  with  the  crop  returns. 

511 


512  BULLETIN  No.  196  [February, 

The  soil  used  was  of  that  type  common  to  the  part  of  the  state  in 
which  the  Experiment  Station  is  located,  the  brown  silt  loam,  the 
average  composition  of  which  is  as  follows:1 


Nitrogen 5,000  Ibs. 

Phosphorus    1,200  Ibs. 

Potassium 36,000  Ibs. 


per  surface  layer  of  6% 
inches   (2,000',000  Ibs.) 


The  soil  had  been  planted  to  corn  for  a  number  of  years,  had  lain 
fallow  since  1909,  and  had  been  twice  plowed  during  the  spring  pre- 
vious to  its  use.  Before  being  put  in  the  benches,  it  was  thoroly  pulver- 
ized and  a  uniform  mixture  was  secured  by  preparing  the  soil  accord- 
ing to  the  methods  described  in  the  bulletin,  ' '  The  Use  of  Commercial 
Fertilizers  in  Growing  Carnations. '  '2 

The  dried  blood  used  contained  approximately  14  percent  nitro- 
gen, the  acid  phosphate  7  percent  phosphorus,  and  the  potassium 
sulfate  41  percent  potassium,  as  shown  by  the  analyses  given  below : 

TABLE  1. — ANALYSES  OP  FERTILIZERS  USED,  1910-13 


Year 

Nitrogen  in 
dried  blood 

Phosphorus  in 
acid  phosphate 

Potassium  in 
potassium  sulfate 

1910-11 
1911-12 
1912-13 

percent 
13.70 
14.07 
14.09 

percent 
7.03 
7.03 
6.62 

percent 
41.9 
41.9 
39.7 

NOTE. — These  analyses  were  made  by  the  Department  of  Agronomy. 

In  order  to  make  a  comparison  of  the  various  kinds  and  pro- 
portions of  fertilizers,  the  benches  were  laid  off  into  sections  10  feet 
in  length,  giving  an  area  of  40  square  feet  to  each,  with  room  for  32 
plants.  To  each  of  these  were  added  manure  and  the  fertilizers  in 
the  amounts  shown  in  Tables  3  and  4.  Of  the  32  plants  in  each  section, 
16  own-root  and  16  grafted  were  placed  in  alternate  ends  of  the  sec- 
tions in  alternate  years,  the  own-root  and  grafted  plants  receiving 
the  same  quantities  of  fertilizer  per  section.  On  account  of  the  larger 
root  area  of  the  grafted  plants,  however,  they  really  received  propor- 
tionately heavier  applications.  The  arrangement  of  sections  during 
1910-11  and  1911-12  is  shown  in  Fig.  1,  and  that  during  1912-13  in 
Fig.  2. 

The  fertilizers  were  applied  and  the  plants  set  in  the  following 
manner:  The  benches  were  filled  with  the  uniformly  mixed  soil,  a 
straight-edge  being  used  to  secure  even  filling.  To  each  section  well- 
rotted  manure  (containing  about  50  percent  moisture)  was  applied 
at  the  rate  of  115  pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space.  The 
fertilizers  were  then  added  in  the  amounts  shown  in  Tables  3  and 
4,  only  one-fourth  of  the  total  amount  of  dried  blood,  however,  being 

Hopkins,  Soil  Fertility  and  Permanent.  Agriculture,  p.  82. 
•111.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  176,  p.  366. 


1917] 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  EOSES 


513 


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FIG.  1. — ARRANGEMENT  OF  SECTIONS,  1910-11  AND  1911-12 


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FIG.  2. — ARRANGEMENT  OF  SECTIONS,  1912-13 

applied  at  this  time.  The  remainder  was  added  in  three  equal  portions 
as  a  top-dressing  at  different  times  during  the  year,  and  was  worked 
into  the  soil  lightly  with  hand  cultivators  to  a  depth  of  one  inch.  At 
the  time  of  planting,  the  fertilizers  were  well  mixed  with  the  soil  by 
using  hand  trowels,  after  which  the  soil  was  tramped  down  into  the 
benches,  thoroly  moistened  with  water,  and  left  to  stand  overnight. 
The  roses  were  set  on  the  benches  the  next  morning  at  distances 
twelve  inches  apart  across  the  bench  and  sixteen  inches  the  long  way, 
and  were  arranged  carefully  so  as  to  secure  as  nearly  as  possible  a 
uniform  distribution  with  respect  to  vigor  thruout  the  house, 
with  small  and  large  plants  alternating  in  each  section.  They 
were  then  planted  and  thoroly  watered.  The  methods  used  during 
the  next  few  days  were  those  followed  by  every  careful  grower  to  pre- 
vent too  rapid  transpiration  before  the  roses  take  hold  of  the  soil. 
Thruout  the  year,  watering,  fumigating,  disbudding,  weeding,  etc., 
were  looked  after  as  in  a  commercial  greenhouse.  All  flowers  were 


514  BULLETIN  No.  196  [February, 

cut  back  to  the  second  or  third  leaf  above  the  previous  break,  but  no 
attempt  was  made  to  control  the  time  of  cropping  by  pinching  the 
buds,  since  normal  growth  served  better  as  a  measure  of  the  effects  of 
the  fertilizers. 

The  temperature  in  the  rose  house  was  regulated  as  carefully  as 
the  heating  system  permitted ;  at  times  of  very  cold  weather,  however, 
a  rise  of  several  degrees  above  the  temperature  of  the  outer  end  of 
the  house  occurred  in  the  end  next  the  cross  house.  The  arrangement 
of  sections  was  changed  in  1912-13  to  equalize  this  effect  as  far  as 
possible.  On  cloudy  days,  when  artificial  heat  was  depended  upon 
altogether,  the  temperature  was  kept  as  near  as  possible  to  68°  F., 
while  on  sunny  days  it  was  allowed  to  rise  as  high  as  75°  or  over. 
From  sundown  it  was  lowered  gradually  until  nine  o'clock,  when  it 
reached  63°,  a  temperature  which  was  maintained  until  midnight. 
Between  this  time  and  morning  it  was  allowed  to  drop  two  or  three 
degrees  lower,  but  very  seldom  below  60°.  During  cold  weather,  tem- 
perature was  regulated  entirely  by  steam  coils,  without  ventilation. 

Records  were  kept  of  the  number  of  flowers  produced  and  the 
length  of  stem  of  each  flower  during  the  seasons  November  to  May 
inclusive  (7  months),  1910-11,  and  October  to  May  inclusive  (8 
months)  the  remaining  two  years.  It  was  not  known  whether  the 
number  of  flowers  produced  would  be  an  accurate  standard  of  meas- 
urement of  the  money  value  of  the  crop,  since  length  of  stem  largely 
determines  the  price  of  roses.  To  overcome  this  difficulty,  the  "total 
stem  length"  produced  by  the  plant,  that  is,  the  total  number  of  inches 
of  stem  (found  by  adding  the  stem  length  of  all  flowers  produced) 
was  used  as  an  additional  standard  of  measurement.  It  is  evident  that 
this  value  is  an  approximate  measure  of  the  total  amount  of  vegeta- 
tion produced  by  the  plant,  particularly  with  Killarney,  which  has 
no  blind  wood.  Records  were  kept  by  the  week,  so  that  not  only  the 
total  number  of  flowers  and  the  total  stem  length  produced  during 
the  season,  but  the  production  at  various  times  during  the  season 
might  be  compared. 

EFFECT  OF  FERTILIZATION  UPON  YEARLY  PRODUCTION, 

1910-13 

During  the  seasons  of  1910-13,  records  were  kept  on  3,840  plants, 
one-fourth  of  which  were  own-root  Bride,  grafted  Bride,  own-root 
Killarney,  and  grafted  Killarney,  respectively.  A  complete  summary 
of  the  number  of  plants  grown,  the  number  of  flowers,  and  the  total 
number  of  inches  of  stem  length  produced,  is  given  in  Table  2. 

The  3,840  plants  produced  a  total  of  95,013  roses,  an  average  of 
about  25  flowers  per  plant  per  season.  This  may  be  considered  a 
satisfactory  yield  for  first-year  plants,  since  a  considerable  number 
of  them  were  injured  by  overfeeding  as  a  result  of  the  attempt  to 


1917]  USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  EOSES  515 

determine  the  maximum  amount  of  fertilizer  that  might  safely  be 
used.  Of  these  95,013  flowers,  45,135  were  Killarneys  and  49,878 
Brides  (the  Brides  producing  about  5  percent  more  than  half  the 
total  yield).  Of  the  flowers  produced  by  Killarney,  21,297  were  pro- 
duced from  own-root  stock  and  23,838  from  grafted.  Of  the  Brides, 
23,019  were  produced  from  own-root  stock  and  26,859  from  grafted. 
Results  indicate,  then,  that  in  production  of  flowers  the  plants  rank 
as  follows:  grafted  Bride,  grafted  Killarney,  own-root  Bride,  own- 
root  Killarney. 

A  summary  of  the  results  obtained  by  applying  commercial  ferti- 
lizers to  the)  sections  in  differing  amounts  is  given  in  Tables  3  and  4, 
showing  the  number  of  flowers  produced  during  1910-13  in  the  season 
when  records  were  kept  (Table  3),  and  the  total  stem  length  during 
the  same  time  (Table  4).  In  these  tables,  which  also  give  the  amounts 
of  the  fertilizers  applied  to  each  section,  it  is  shown  that  three  sections 
(4,  10,  16)  had  no  commercial  fertilizer  applied,  while  Sections  1,  7, 
and  13  had  applied  to  each,  8  pounds  of  dried  blood,  2  pounds  of  acid 
phosphate,  and  2  pounds  of  potassium  sulfate  per  100  square  feet  of 
bench  space  (5  inches  deep).  The  remaining  sections  received  appli- 
cations of  dried  blood  varying  from  8  to  32  pounds,  of  acid  phosphate 
from  2  to  8  pounds,  and  of  potassium  sulfate  from  2  to  8  pounds  per 
100  square  feet  in  various  combinations.  A  comparison  of  the  average 
results  from  the  unfertilized  sections  with  those  from  all  fertilized 
sections  is  presented  in  Table  5.  From  these  figures,  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  the  more  heavily  fertilized  sections  were  somewhat  injured 
by  overfeeding,  it  is  evident  that  the  soil  was  not  capable  of  producing 
a  maximum  crop  without  fertilization. 

COMPARATIVE  EFFECTS  UPON  OWN-ROOT  AND  GRAFTED  STOCK 

From  Table  2  it  is  seen  that  the  960  plants  of  grafted  Killarney 
produced  23,838  flowers,  compared  with  21,297  flowers  from  the  same 
number  of  plants  of  own-root  stock.  Similarly,  960  grafted  Bride 
plants  produced  26,859  flowers,  compared  with  23,019  flowers  from 
the  same  number  of  own-root  Brides.  The  balance  in  favor  of  grafted 
Killarneys  is  2,541  flowers  (from  960  plants),  and  in  favor  of  grafted 
Brides  is  3,840  flowers.  •  The  average  length  of  stem  of  own-root 
Killarneys  was  10.6  inches  and  of  grafted  Killarneys  10.5  inches,  while 
that  of  own-root  Brides  was  14.6  inches,  compared  with  14.9  inches, 
the  average  length  of  stem  of  grafted  Brides.  The  quality  of  the 
flowers,  measured  in  this  manner,  was  about  the  same  in  the  own-root 
and  grafted  Killarneys,  while  the  quality  of  grafted  Brides  was  some- 
what better  than  that  of  own-root  Brides.  The  important  question 
of  whether  it  pays  to  grow  grafted  stock,  with  the  larger  initial  invest- 
ment, can  be  answered  within  the  conditions  of  the  experiment  by 
a  study  of  these  figures  and  the  wholesale  prices  for  flowers  of  such 


516 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


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1917] 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  ROSES 


517 


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BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


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1917] 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  KOSES 


519 


TABLE  5. — COMPARISON  OP  UNFERTILIZED  AND  FERTILIZED  SECTIONS,  1910-13 
(Average  per  16  plants) 


Sections 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Number  of  Flowers 

Unfertilized  

327.4 

388.5 

389.0 
398.6 

325.0 
359.8 

388.5 
458.0 

357.4 
401.3 

Fertilized   . 

Total  Stem  Length 
(Expressed  in  inches) 


Unfertilized  

3308.58 

3983.94 

4686.61 

5568.05 

4386  78 

Fertilized  . 

3914.22 

4217.42 

5786.25 

6855.91 

5193.45 

quality.  The  latter  may  be  obtained  from  Table  6,  which  shows  the 
quoted  wholesale  prices  of  Killarneys  during  1912  (June  to  October 
omitted) J. 

TABLE  6. — PRICE  OF  KILLARNEYS  PER  100,  1912 


Ja 

n.   3,  $4  t 

5  $12 

Mi 

ir.  27,  $3  t 

5  $12 

Oc 

t.   9,  $3  t 

5  $10 

10,   4 

12 

AF 

r.   3,   3 

15 

16,   3 

10 

17,   3 

15 

10,   3 

10 

23,   3 

10 

24,   4 

15 

17,   3 

10 

30,   3 

10 

31,   6 

15 

24,   3 

10 

N 

v.   6,   3 

8 

Fe 

b.   7,   5 

15 

M 

y  i,  3 

10 

13,   3 

8 

14,   5 

15 

8,   3 

10 

20,   3 

8 

21,   5 

15 

15,   3 

10 

27,   3 

10 

28,   4 

12 

22,   3 

10 

D 

.   4,   3 

12 

M 

r.   6,   3 

10 

28,   3 

10 

11,   3  . 

12 

13,   3 

12 

18,   4 

15 

20,   3 

12 

Oc 

t.    2,   3  ' 

'   10 

24,   8 

25 

The  excess  production  of  flowers  from  grafted  Killarney 
plants  over  those  from  own-root  stock  is  somewhat  greater  dur- 
ing the  fall  and  spring  months  than  during  midwinter  (page 
520).  To  make  allowance  for  this  fact,  the  conservative  value  of 
$4  per  100  flowers  is  chosen  as  a  basis  for  calculation.  Such  a  price 
would  be  conservative  for  Brides  also,  since  their  average  stem  length 
somewhat  exceeds  that  of  Killarneys.  At  this  price  the  excess  produc- 
tion from  grafted  Killarneys  would  net  the  grower  a  profit  per  1,000 
plants  of  $105.80,  while  the  excess  production  per  1,000  plants  from 
grafted  Brides  would  be  valued  at  $160.  The  difference  in  cost 
between  own-root  and  grafted  stock  from  21,4-inch  pots,  or  the  addi- 
tional cost  of  manetti  and  labor  for  making  grafted  stock,  is  less 
than  half  the  increased  value  of  the  crop  during  the  first  year  alone. 
The  increased  production  from  grafted  stock  during  1913-15  with 
Killarney  and  Richmond  was  considerably  larger,  being  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  5,700  and  8.000  flowers  per  960  plants. 

'The  Florists'  Eeview,  1912. 


520 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


The  relation  of  the  season  of  the  year  to  the  larger  production 
from  grafted  stock  compared  with  own-root  stock  is  shown  in  Fig.  3 
(page  529).  Each  unit  at  the  bottom  of  the  graph  from  left  to  right 
represents  a  week  of  the  season,  while  the  number  of  flowers  produced 
is  shown  by  the  row  of  figures  extending  vertically  on  the  left. 

The  largest  differences  between  the  curves  are  for  the  periods  Oc- 
tober 7  to  November  12,  and  April  14  to  June  26.  Other  periods  where 
an  excess  production  of  grafted  stock  over  own-root  is  shown  are 
December  9  to  December  30,  and  March  24  to  April  7.  During  Jan- 
uary and  February  the  production  was  practically  the  same. 

EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  DRIED  BLOOD 

In  Sections  1,  7,  and  13,  8  pounds  of  dried  blood  were  used  with  2 
pounds  each  of  acid  phosphate  and  potassium  sulfate.  In  Sections 
2  and  3,  16  and  32  pounds  of  dried  blood  were  added,  respectively, 
together  with  the  amounts  of  acid  phosphate  and  potassium  sulfate 
used  in  the  first  sections.  A  comparison  between  these  sections  would 
show  the  effect  of  increasing  amounts  of  dried  blood,  an  increasing 
production  with  larger  applications  being  an  indication  that  the  dried 
blood  was  the  limiting  factor  of  plant  growth  in  this  soil  mixture. 
The  results  are  presented  in  Table  7. 

TABLE  7. — EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  DRIED  BLOOD,  1910-13 
(Average  per  16  plants) 


Fertilizer 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Section 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Dried 
blood 

Acid 
phosphate 

Potassium 
sulfate 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Number  of  Flowers 


8 

2 

2 

1-7-13 

375.5 

410.4 

391.0 

482.8 

414.9 

16 

2 

2 

2 

361.0 

383.3 

383.6 

472.6 

400.1 

32 

2 

2 

3 

391.0 

383.6 

339.3 

405.(5 

379.9 

Total  Stem  Length 
(Expressed  in  inches) 


8 

2 

2 

1-7-13 

4171.84 

4282.90 

5890.06 

7339.29 

5421.02 

16 

2 

2 

2 

3798.75 

3870.08 

5531.16 

7251.50 

5087.87 

32 

2 

2 

3 

3797.50 

3948.92 

4736.92 

5913.30 

4599.16 

With  all  types  of  plants  except  own-root  Killarneys,  for  which  the 
results  are  not  consistent,  a  decrease  in  number  of  flowers  produced 
and  in  total  stem  length  resulted  from  increasing  applications  of  dried 
blood.  The  effect  was  particularly  noticeable  when  32  pounds  of  dried 
blood  were  applied,  and  the  percentage  drop  was  greater  in  Brides 
than  in  Killarneys.  The  decidedly  injurious  effect  of  this  heavy 
application  of  dried  blood  will  be  pointed  out  in  the  discussion  of 
the  results  of  increasing  the  amounts  of  two  or  three  of  the 


1917} 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  EOSES 


521 


fertilizers  together  (pages  523-525).  Clearly  8  pounds  of  dried 
blood  was  the  heaviest  application  that  could  be  made  without  lower- 
ing production. 

Since  8  pounds  of  dried  blood  was  the  minimum  amount  used, 
the  question  whether  a  smaller  quantity  of  dried  blood  would  have 
been  beneficial  was  not  determined.  Further  evidence  in  regard  to 
its  use  is,  however,  brought  out  on  page  527. 

EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  ACID  PHOSPHATE 

To  Sections  5  and  6  were  applied  respectively  4  and  8  pounds 
of  acid  phosphate  per  100  square  feet.  These  may  also  be  compared 
with  the  average  of  Sections  1,  7,  and  13,  to  which  only  2  pounds 
were  applied,  since  all  of  them  received  the  same  quantities  of  dried 
blood  (8  pounds)  and  of  potassium  sulfate  (2  pounds).  The  results 
are  given  in  Table  8. 

TABLE  8. — EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  ACID  PHOSPHATE,  1910-13 
(Average  per  16  plants) 


Fertilizer 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Section 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Dried  |     Acid 
blood  i  phosphate 

Potassium 
sulfate 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root  Grafted. 

Number  of  Flowers 


8 

2 

2 

1-7-13 

375.5 

410.4 

391.0 

482.8 

414.9 

8 

4 

2 

5 

352.0 

409.3 

416.3 

483.3 

415.2 

8 

8 

2 

6 

383.0 

470.0 

485.6 

479.6 

454.5 

Total  Stem  Length 
(Expressed  in  inches) 


8 

2 

2 

1-7-13 

4171.84 

4282.90 

5890.06 

7339.29 

5421.02 

8 

4 

2 

5 

3864.33 

4308.38 

6290.21 

7316.71 

5437.53 

8 

8 

2 

6 

4314.42 

5190.84 

7129.59 

7295.65 

5982.62 

In  this  series,  grafted  Brides  were  the  exceptional  plants.  With 
the  others,  an  increase  was  produced  by  the  heaviest  application  of 
acid  phosphate.  The  results  are  consistent  both  for  number 
of  flowers  and  for  total  stem  length.  With  grafted  Brides  the  yield, 
both  of  flowers  and  of  total  stem  length,  remained  practically  un- 
changed in  all  the  sections. 

The  data  indicate  that  phosphorus  was  the  limiting  element,  and 
the  much  larger  increase  when  8  pounds  rather  than  2  pounds  were 
applied  points  out  the  possibility  that  much  larger  applications  of 
acid  phosphate  would  have  increased  the  crop  in  still  greater  measure. 
The  much  smaller  size  of  the  root  system  of  a  rose  plant  heavily  fer- 
tilized with  it  is  evidence  of  this  need,  as  is  the  fact  often  observed  in 
experiments  where  acid  phosphate  has  been  applied  as  a  top-dress- 
ing, that  the  roots  grow  toward  the  surface  of  the  soil  instead  of 
being  evenly  distributed  thru  it. 


522 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  POTASSIUM  SULFATE 

Sections  8  and  9,  to  which  the  same  amounts  of  fertilizers  were 
applied  as  to  Sections  1,  7,  and  13,  except  that  the  amounts  of  potas- 
sium sulfate  were  increased  respectively  to  4  and  8  pounds  per  100 
square  feet,  may  be  compared  with  them,  to  determine  the  advisability 
of  using  potassium  sulfate  as  a  fertilizer.  The  soil  used  in  this 
experiment  (see  page  512)  contained  some  36,000  pounds  of  potassium 
per  acre  of  surface  soil.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  only  a  small  propor- 
tion of  this  is  available  for  the  immediate  nutrition  of  the  plant,  being 
largely  in  the  form  of  insoluble  granitic  and  feldspathic  particles,  the 
conditions  provided  by  the  greenhouse  are  those  which  would  promote 
the  rapid  decomposition  of  these  particles  into  forms  sufficiently  solu- 
ble to  be  of  use  to  the  plant.  Thus,  a  moderate  and  fairly  constant 
amount  of  moisture  is  maintained,  ample  supplies  of  organic  matter 
are  present,  and  the  temperature  never  varies  beyond  the  range  of  bac- 
terial action.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a  soil  which  under  farming 
conditions1  shows  little  response  to  applications  of  potassium  for  farm 
crops  would  show  a  need  of  potassium  under  given  conditions,  unless 
roses  required  an  unusually  large  amount.  The  results  from  these 
sections  are  presented  in  Table  9. 

TABLE  9. — EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  POTASSIUM  SULFATE,  1910-13 
(Average  per  16  plants) 


Fertilizer 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Section 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Dried 
blood 

Acid 
phosphate 

Potassium 
sulfate 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Number  of  Flowers 


8 

2 

2 

1-7-13 

375.5 

410.4 

391.0 

482.8 

414.9 

8 

2 

4 

8 

333.0 

374.3 

398.6 

459.3 

391.3 

8 

2 

8 

9 

317.0 

382.0 

382.0 

448.6 

382.4 

Total  Stem  Length 
(Expressed  in  inches) 


8 

2 

a 

1-7-13 

4171.84 

4282.90 

5890.06 

7339.29 

5421.02 

8 

2 

4 

8 

3594.75 

4014.59 

6020.67 

7175.79 

5201.45 

8 

2 

8 

9 

3349.33 

3999.98 

5596.83 

6628.13 

5018.17 

With  the  exception  of  own-root  Brides,  each  series  shows  not 
only  no  gain  with  increasing  applications  of  potassium  sulfate,  but 
a  loss  which  is  usually  greatest  with  the  heaviest  application.  In  no 
case  does  the  production  when  the  heaviest  application  is  made  equal 
that  wrhen  only  two  pounds  are  applied.  The  exceptional  behavior 
of  own-root  Brides — an  increase  upon  application  of  four  pounds  of 
potassium  sulfate — is  seen  with  both  standards  of  measurement,  but 
the  increase  is  not  large  enough  to  stand  out  as  significant  evidence 

'C.  G.  Hopkins,  Soil  Fertility  »and  Permanent  Agriculture,  p.  459, 


1917] 


523 


in  favor  of  the  use  of  potassium  sulfate.  Certain  soils  of  the  state1, 
viz.,  the  peaty  and  sandy  swamp  soils  of  northern  Illinois,  have  been 
shown  to  be  deficient  in  potassium  for  farm  crops.  The  experiments 
described  in  this  bulletin  are,  of  course,  of  no  value  in  judging  the 
need  for  potassium  on  such  soils.  Neither  sandy  nor  peaty  soils 
are  suited  to  rose  growing,  however,  so  that  no  consideration  need  be 
given  these  types. 

EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  BOTH  DRIED  BLOOD  AND  ACID 

PHOSPHATE 

An  increase  in  the  amounts  of  both  dried  blood  and  acid  phos- 
phate in  successive  sections  furnishes  a  method  of  testing  out  the 
conclusions  reached  from  the  study  of  the  effect  of  increasing  each 
separately.  In  general  these  conclusions  were  that  larger  quantities 
of  dried  blood  than  8  pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space  (5 
inches  deep)  were  harmful,  the  largest  application  (32  pounds) 
being  especially  so;  that  increasing  applications  of  potassium  sulfate 
caused  a  decrease  in  production ;  and  that  increasingly  larger  produc- 
tion resulted  from  an  increase  in  application  of  acid  phosphate.  A 
comparison  of  Sections  1,  7,  and  13  with  Sections  11  and  12,  to  which 
were  applied  respectively  8  pounds,  16  pounds,  and  32  pounds  of  dried 
blood,  and  2  pounds,  4  pounds,  and  8  pounds  of  acid  phosphate,  with 
a  constant  quantity  of  potassium  sulfate,  shows  the  results  of  the 
opposing  effects  of  acid  phosphate  and  dried  blood. 

TABLE  10. — EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  BOTH  DRIED  BLOOD  AND  ACID 

PHOSPHATE,  1910-13 


Fertilizer 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Section 

Number  of  flowers 
(Average  per  16  plants) 

Dried 
blood 

Acid 
phosphate 

Potassium 
snlfate 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Own-root  [Grafted 

Own-root  [Grafted 

8 
16 
32 

2 

4 
8 

2 
2 
2 

1  7-13 
11 
12 

375.5 
415.0 
403.6 

410.4 
423.6 
413.0 

391.0 
419.6 
340.0 

482.8 
490.0 
430.3 

414.9 
437.0 
396.7 

On  the  whole,  the  different  types  of  plants  follow  the  results 
shown  in  the  figures  for  average  production,  that  is,  an  increase  of 
production  as  the  application  of  both  fertilizers  is  doubled,  followed 
by  a  drop  in  production  with  larger  applications,  because  of  injury 
from  overfeeding  with  dried  blood. 

Applications  of  16  pounds  of  dried  blood  with  4  pounds  of  acid 
phosphate  gave  larger  yields  than  where  dried  blood  remained  at 
8  pounds,  as  is  shown  by  Sections  11  and  5  in  Table  11.  Increasing 
the  application  of  acid  phosphate  to  8  pounds  (with  dried  blood  8 

'111.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  157. 


524 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


pounds)  caused  a  still  larger  production  with  grafted  Killarney  and 
own-root  Bride  (Section  6,  Table  11),  those  types  that  gave  largest 
increases  with  an  increase  of  acid  phosphate  alone  (Table  8). 


TABLE  11. — EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  DRIED  BLOOD  AND  ACID 
PHOSPHATE,  1910-13 


Fertilizer 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Section 

Number  of  flowers 
(Average  per  16  plants) 

Dried 
blood 

Acid 
phosphate 

Potassium 
sulfate 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root  |  Grafted 

16 

8 
8 

4 
4 
8 

2 
2 

2 

11 
5 
6 

415.0 
352.0 
383.0 

423.6 
409.3 
470.0 

419.6 
416.3 
485.6 

490.0 
483.3 
479.6 

437.0 
415.2 
454.5 

EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  BOTH  DRIED  BLOOD  AND 
POTASSIUM  SULFATE 

Large  applications  of  both  of  these  fertilizers  intensified  the  injury 
resulting  from  large  applications  of  either  fertilizer  (see  Table  12). 


TABLE  12. — EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  DRIED  BLOOD  AND  POTASSIUM 

SULFATE,  1910-13 


Fertilizer 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Section 

Number  of  flowers 
(Average  per  16  plants) 

Dried 
blood 

Acid 
phosphate 

Potassium 
sulfate 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root 

Grafted 

8 
16 
32 

2 
2 
2 

2 

4 
8 

1-7-13 
14 
15 

375.5 
353.3 
315.6 

410.4 
372.6 
363.3 

391.0 

404.6 
360.6 

482.8 
447.3 
377.3 

414.9 
394.5 
354.2 

EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  BOTH  ACID  PHOSPHATE  AND 

POTASSIUM  SULFATE 

All  the  plants  so  treated  were  vigorous  in  growth,  but  the  data 
show  that  the  production  remained  about  the  same  as  before.  The 
results  of  this  treatment  are  presented  in  Table  13. 


TABLE  13.- 


-EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  ACID  PHOSPHATE  AND  POTASSIUM 
SULFATE,  1910-13 


Fertilizer 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Section 

Number  of  flowers 
(Average  per   16  plants) 

Dried 
blood 

Acid 
phosphate 

Potassium 
sulfate 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root 

Grafted 

8 
8 
8 

2 

4 
8 

2 
4 
8 

1-7-13 
17 

18 

375.5 
359.3 
351.3 

410.4 
416.6 
414.3 

391.0 
409.6 
386.0 

482.8 
477.0 
478.6 

414.9 
415.6 
407.5 

1917\ 


525 


EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  DRIED  BLOOD,  ACID  PHOSPHATE, 
AND  POTASSIUM  SULFATE 

The  results  presented  in  Table  14  show  that  the  heaviest  applica- 
tions of  the  three  fertilizers  resulted  in  decreased  production.  In 
every  case  heavy  applications  of  the  three  fertilizers  gave  lower  yields 
than  heavy  applications  of  acid  phosphate  alone  (see  Table  8). 

TABLE  14. — EFFECT  OF  INCREASING  AMOUNTS  OF  DRIED  BLOOD,  ACID  PHOSPHATE, 
AND  POTASSIUM  SULFATE,  1910-13 


Fertilizer 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Section 

Number  of  flowers 
(Average  per  16  plants) 

Dried 
blood 

Acid 
phosphate 

Potassium 
sulfate 

Killarney 

Bride 

Average 

Own-root  |  Grafted 

Own-root  |  Grafted 

8 
16 
32 

2 
4 
8 

2 

4 
8 

1-7-13 
19 
20 

375.5 
367.3 
364.6 

410.4 
357.3 
382.3 

391.0 
422.6 
376.0 

482.8 
455.0 
437.3 

414.9 
400.6 
390.0 

DISCUSSION  OF  RESULTS 

These  experiments  indicate  that  own-root  Killarney  plants  are 
uninjured  by  larger  quantities  of  dried  blood  than  grafted  Killarneys 
or  Brides  of  either  stock.  Larger  applications  of  acid  phosphate 
increased  the  production  of  flowers  in  all  cases  except  that  of  grafted 
Brides.  There  seems  to  be  an  inverse  relation  between  the  size  of  the 
root  system  and  the  extent  to  which  applications  of  commercial 
fertilizer  may  be  made  with  profit  and  safety.  For  grafted  Brides, 
with  the  largest  root  system  of  the  types  grown,  were  injured  by 
increasing  applications  of  dried  blood  to  a  much  greater  extent  than 
own-root  Killarneys,  with  a  smaller  root  system.  Also,  acid  phosphate 
had  no  effect  upon  the  crop  from  grafted  Brides,  but  increased  the 
production  from  the  own-root  Brides  and  both  own-root  and  grafted 
Killarneys. 

The  results,  then,  indicate  that,  in  general,'  applications  of  dried 
blood  and  of  potassium  sulfate  above  8  and  2  pounds,  respectively,  per 
100  square  feet  of  bench  space,  caused  a  decrease  in  production ;  that 
applications  of  acid  phosphate  up  to  the  largest  amount  used  caused 
an  increase  in  production;  and  that  combinations  of  these  fertilizers 
caused  an  increase  or  decrease,  depending  upon  the  relative  effect  of 
the  fertilizers  in  the  combination. 

It  should  be  pointed  out  that  while  no  evidence  is  found  to  favor 
the  use  of  potassium  sulfate,  in  this  experiment  every  section  which 
received  any  commercial  fertilizer  received  a  minimum  application 
of  this  fertilizer  and  of  dried  blood  and  acid  phosphate.  No  data 
are  available  regarding  the  effects  of  these  initial  quantities  excepting 
those  given  in  Tables  3  and  41  in  which  comparisons  are  made  between 
sections  fertilized  only  with  a  certain  quantity  of  manure,  and  those 

'Averages  of  Sections  4,  10,  and  16  and  Sections  1,  7,  and  13  are  compared. 


526  BULLETIN  No.  196  [February, 

having  in  addition  the  minimum  quantities  of  these  three  fertilizers. 
AJso  while  definite  results  were  obtained  with  regard  to  the  maximum 
quantities  of  dried  blood  that  may  profitably  be  used,  increased  pro- 
duction resulted  from  the  largest  applications  of  acid  phosphate  made, 
so  that  the  maximum  amount  of  this  fertilizer  that  is  profitable  was 
not  determined  by  this  experiment.1 

EFFECT  OF  FERTILIZATION  UPON  WEEKLY  PRODUCTION, 

1910-13 

The  wide  variation  in  the  price  of  roses  during  the  year  makes  the 
study  of  the  response  of  the  plants  to  fertilization  at  different  periods 
of  the  year  an  important  one.  The  proper  time  to  apply  each  fertilizer 
also  will  depend  upon  the  response  of  the  plants  to  it  during  the 
different  periods  of  the  year.  In  order  to  make  this  comparison 
possible,  the  production  of  each  section  during  the  season  of  1912-13 — 
both  number  of  flowers  and  total  stem  length — was  summed  up 
at  the  end  of  each  week,  and  the  average  stem  length  for  the 
week  calculated.  The  results  were  then  plotted  as  shown  in 
the  following  figures  (pages  529  to  541),  each  division  of  the  abscissa 
corresponding  to  a  week  of  the  season,  while  the  divisions  upon  the 
ordinate  correspond  to  the  number  of  flowers  shown  by  the  figures  at 
the  left.  A  rise  in  the  curve  connecting  the  points  representing  the 
production  each  week  corresponds  to  an  increased  production,  and  vice 
versa.  In  every  case  the  first  week  ended  October  7. 

TYPICAL  RATE  OF  PRODUCTION 

Fig.  4  shows  the  production  of  flowers  in  all  sections  of  grafted 
Killarney  during  the  season  of  1912-13.  The  general  form  of  the 
curve  indicates  a  maximum  production  about  November  1  followed 
by  a  drop  to  a  minimum  about  February  15,  and  in  turn  succeeded 
by  a  gradual  increase  to  a  second  maximum  about  May  15.  The 
months  of  lowest  production  were  January  and  February,. 

RELATION  OP  SUNSHINE  TO  PRODUCTION 

A  correlation  between  this  variation  of  production  and  the 
amount  of  sunshine  during  the  year  is  shown  in  Fig.  5,  where  the  solid 
line  represents  the  production  of  flowers  per  week  by  grafted  Killar- 
ney  and  the  broken  one  the  hours  of  sunshine  per  week.  The  general 
form  of  the  curves  is  the  same,  the  periods  of  large  or  small  amount 
oi'  sunshine  being  succeeded  in  two  or  three  weeks  by  periods  of  cor- 
responding variation  in  production. 

RELATION  OF  TIME  OF  YEAR  TO  STEM  LENGTH 

The  relation  of  the  average  weekly  stem  length  to  the  time  of 
year  is  shown  by  the  broken  line  in  Fig.  6  (for  moderately  fertilized 
JSee  page  541  for  further  experiments. 


1917]  USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  ROSES  527 

own-root  Brides),  while  its  relation  to  the  number  of  flowers  pro- 
duced each  week  is  shown  by  comparison  with  the  solid  line.  The 
curve  shows  the  relation  for  first-year  roses  only.  With  older  stock 
the  period  in  early  fall  during  which  short  stems  were  produced  would 
doubtless  be  less  pronounced.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  season  there 
was  a  slight  drop  from  the  maximum  stem  length  found  during  the 
19th  to  22nd  weeks  (February  10  to  March  3). 

RELATION  OF  ONE  YEAR'S  PRODUCTION  TO  ANOTHER 

It  was  stated  on  page  511  that  the  experiment  of  1910-11  was  con- 
tinued during  the  two  succeeding  years;  the  data  were  based  on 
the  average  of  these  years.  Fig.  7  shows  the  curves  for  the  produc- 
tion of  flowers  by  grafted  Killarney  during  these  years.  With  the 
exception  of  the  period  during  the  6th  to  10th  weeks  of  1910-11,  the 
curves  are  in  fair  accord  and  indicate  the  degree  of  accuracy  that 
can  be  obtained  by  interpreting  the  results  upon  weekly  production 
during  1912-13  alone. 

GENERAL  RELATION  OF  FERTILIZING  TO  WEEKLY  PRODUCTION 

The  solid  line  of  Fig.  8  represents  the  average  number  of  flowers 
produced  per  section  upon  all  the  sections  to  which  commercial 
fertilizer  was  applied,  while  the  average  production  of  all  sections 
unfertilized  with  commercial  fertilizer  is  given  for  comparison  by 
the  broken  line.  The  significant  part  of  the  curves  is  the  distinct 
and  continued  increase  in  production  of  the  fertilized  over  the  un- 
fertilized sections  largely  from  the  24th  to  34th  weeks  (March  17  to 
June  1).  The  effects  of  dried  blood,  of  moderate  fertilizing,  and  of 
acid  phosphate  upon  this  weekly  production  are  considered  in  the 
following  paragraphs. 

RELATION  OF  FERTILIZING  TO  VARIATION  IN  STEM  LENGTH 

Fig.  9,  giving  the  variation  of  average  stem  length  of  own-root 
Brides  in  moderately  fertilized  sections  (broken  line)  compared  with 
the  stem  length  of  flowers  from  the  unfertilized  sections  (solid  line), 
shows  that  the  average  stem  length  was  practically  unaffected  by  fer- 
tilization. 

EFFECT  OF  HEAVY  FERTILIZING  WITH  DRIED  BLOOD 

It  has  been  pointed  out  (page  520)  that  the  largest  amounts  of 
dried  blood  used  (32  pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space 
5  inches  deep)  produced,  marked  injury  to  all  plants,  excepting  own- 
root  Killarneys,  and  decreased  production.  With  Killarneys  of 
this  stock  the  results  were  not  consistent.  Figs.  10  to  13, 
inclusive,  illustrate  the  production  of  the  sections  heavily  fer- 


528  BULLETIN  No.  196  [February, 

tilized  with  dried  blood  (Sections  3,  12,  15,  20)  compared  with 
that  from  the  unfertilized  sections1.  In  each  case,  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  season,  the  heavily  fertilized  sections  showed  an  increase 
in  production.  In  early  fall,  own-root  Killarneys  alone  where  ferti- 
lized showed  an  increase  in  number  of  flowers ;  the  other  types  showed 
a  decrease.  The  production  during  the  winter  months  was  about 
the  same  whether  the  plants  were  fertilized  or  not.  It  may  be  con- 
cluded from  this  study  that,  in  general,  fertilization  with  dried  blood 
is  undesirable  in  the  fall,  useless  in  the  winter,  but  beneficial  in  the 
spring. 

EFFECT  OF  MODERATE  FERTILIZING 

The  series  of  curves  shown  in  Figs.  14  to  21,  inclusive,  shows 
the  production  of  flowers  and  of  total  stem  length  of  each  type  where 
the  production  of  moderately  fertilized  sections  (solid  line)  is  com- 
pared with  the  production  of  unfertilized  sections  (broken  line).  In 
own-root  stock  of  each  variety,  nearly  the  whole  excess  production  of 
the  fertilized  sections  over  the  unfertilized  sections  can  be  accounted 
for  during  the  last  few  weeks  of  the  season.  For  instance,  the  excess 
production  of  fertilized  own-root  Brides  for  the  entire  year  over 
those  unfertilized  is  123  flowers.  During  the  last  six  weeks  of  the 
season  the  excess  production  from  the  fertilized  sections  amounts 
to  105  flowers.  At  no  other  time  of  the  year  is  there  a  continued 
increased  production  traceable  to  fertilization.  In  the  case  of  grafted 
stock,  not  so  large  a  proportion  can  be  traced,  but  here  again  the 
greater  part  of  the  increase  consists  of  that  during  the  spring  months. 

EFFECT  OF  Aero  PHOSPHATE 

The  effect  of  larger  applications  of  acid  phosphate  upon  weekly 
production  is  indicated  by  the  series  of  figures  (22  to  25  inclusive) 
showing  the  number  of  flowers  produced  weekly  in  the  section  to  which 
a  rather  heavier  application  of  acid  phosphate  was  made  (Section  62) 
compared  with  the  average  production  of  the  moderately  fertilized 
sections  (1,  7,  and  13),  to  which  the  same  quantities  of  dried  blood 
and  potassium  sulfate  but  a  smaller  quantity  of  acid  phosphate  were 
applied.  The  solid  line  shows  the  production  with  larger  amounts 
of  acid  phosphate,  the  broken  one,  without  this  quantity.  Owing  to 
the  fact  that  there  was  but  one  section  so  fertilized,  the  results  do 
not  give  as  regular  a  curve  as  would  result  from  a  larger  number  of 
plants.  One  significant  feature,  however,  is  evident.  The  increase 
in  production  is  not  traceable  to  the  last  few  weeks  of  the  year,  but 
extends  thruout  fall,  winter,  and  spring. 

JSince  there  were  only  three  unfertilized  sections,  viz.,  4,  10,  and  16,  the  results 
are  multiplied  by  4/3  to  make  them  comparable. 

2The  results  from  this  section  are  multiplied  by  3  to  make  them  comparable 
with  the  other?. 


1017] 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  KOSES 


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FIG.  3.  —  COMPARATIVE  EFFECTS  OF  FERTILIZING  UPON  OWN-ROOT  AND  GRAFTED  KILLARNEY,  1912-13 

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USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  0 ROWING  ROSES 


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BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


1917]  USE  OP  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  ROSES  541 

DISCUSSION  OF  KESULTS 

A  study  of  th'e  effect  of  the  application  of  these  commercial 
fertilizers  upon  the  weekly  production  of  flowers  shows  that  the  appli- 
cation of  dried  blood  was  harmful  in  the  fall,  without  result  during 
th^  winter,  and  beneficial  in  the  spring.  Acid  phosphate,  on  the  other 
hand,  gave  a  consistent  increase  in  production  thruout  the  year.  This 
latter  result  is  important  because  of  the  increased  value  of  roses  during 
the  winter  months.  It  points  also  to  the  advisability  of  mixing  this 
fertilizer  with  the  soil  before  filling  the  benches. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  EXPERIMENT,  1913-15 

The  experiments  of  1910-13  showed  acid  phosphate  to  be,  on  the 
whole,  the  most  profitable  of  the  commercial  fertilizers  used,  while  a 
need  for  nitrogenous  fertilizer  amounting  to  about  eight  pounds  of 
dried  blood  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space,  particularly  in  the 
spring  of  the  year,  was  made  evident  also.  With  regard  to  acid 
phosphate,  the  maximum  application  that  might  be  made  with  subse- 
quent profit  and  safety  could  not  be  determined  from  the  data,  since 
the  largest  amounts  employed  still  gave  increased  returns  over  those 
from  the  use  of  smaller  quantities. 

It  was  considered  advisable  in  the  experimental  work  of  1913-15 
tc  study  the  use  of  acid  phosphate  in  more  detail,  varying  quite  widely 
the  quantities  applied  to  the  different  sections  in  order  to  reach  the 
limit  of  practical  application,  and  increasing  the  number  of  plants 
grown  under  each  treatment  by  decreasing  the  number  of  treatments, 
in  order  that  the  averages  of  the  data  might  afford  a  more  reliable 
comparison.  In  addition,  records  were  kept  of  the  individual  produc- 
tion of  a  number  of  moderately  fertilized  plants,  for  the  purpose  of 
calculating  the  probable  error  involved  in  comparing  the  production 
from  the  different  sections.  Certainty  was  given  further  by  using  a 
series  of  six  treatments  in  which  the  quantity  of  acid  phosphate  was 
successively  increased.  To  obviate  that  error  due  to  unequal  con- 
ditions of  illumination,  temperature,  and  humidity  in  different  parts 
of  the  greenhouses,  six  repetitions  of  the  treatments  in  each  series 
were  made  progressively  thru  the  house,  and  data  for  comparison  were 
secured  from  the  set  of  six  thus  differently  located.  Ammonium  sul- 
fate  (approximately  21  percent  nitrogen)  was  used  in  the  place  of 
dried  blood  in  these  experiments.  To  half  the  sections  used  for  each 
treatment  finely  ground  limestone  was  applied  as  top-dressings,  or 
mixed  with  the  soil,  in  order  to  test  the  efficiency  of  this  material  in 
fertilizing  roses1. 

MJpon  acid  foils  (Eept.  N.  J.  Sta.  1893  seq.)  air-slaked  lime  has  been  found 
to  benefit  sweet  peas,  comet  asters,  poppies,  and  legumes,  while  dilute  solutions 
of  citric  acid  were  found  by  Maxwell  [Jour.  Amer.  Chem.  Soc.  20  (1893)  103] 
to  affect  unfavorably  the  growth  of  some  legumes  and  grasses,  and  all  crucifers 


542  BULLETIN  No.  196  [February, 

The  rose  house  used  in  this  work  measures  28  feet  by  105  feet 
and  contains  1,600  square  feet  of  bench  space  -5  inches  deep.  It 
extends  east  and  west  and  is  a  part  of  a  range  connected  by  a  cross 
house  at  its  west  end,  so  that  the  east  end  is  exposed.  The  temperature 
variations  in  different  parts  of  the  house  proved  rather  complex  under 
changing  conditions  of  force  and  direction  of  wind,  sunshine,  outside 
temperature,  heating  arrangements,  and  methods  of  ventilation,  but, 
as  an  average,  the  temperature  of  the  inner  end  of  the  house  was  ap- 
proximately five  degrees  above  that  of  the  exposed  end,  during  cold 
weather. 

Each  bench  was  divided  into  eighteen  5-foot  sections,  separated 
from  each  other  by  a  double  partition  with  a  2-inch  air  space  between, 
and  with  a  "buffer"  section  about  3  feet  long  at  each  end  growing 
roses  upon  which  no  records  were  kept.  These  end  sections  were  not 
fertilized1  and  served  as  a  sort  of  check  on  the  experimental  sections, 
altho  conditions  were  hardly  the  same  on  account  of  the  more  rapid 
drying  of  the  soil  at  the  ends  of  the  benches. 

Killarneys  were  grown  in  the  two  north  benches,  and  Eichmonds 
in  the  south;  each  section,  which  held  four  rows  of  plants  12x15  inches 
apart,  contained  two  rows  of  own-root  and  two  of  grafted  stock,  or 
eight  plants  of  each  type.  The. plants  were  all  first-year  stock,  potted 
into  4-inch  pots  on  March  2-14  and  into  5-inch  pots  on  June  5-9.  The 
plants  were  set  in  the  benches  on  August  4,  1913,  and  on  July  9,  1914. 

Each  two  benches,  comprising  thirty-six  sections  in  all,  were  made 
up  of  six  sets  of  six  sections  each,  numbered  in  rotation  from  one  bench 
to  another.  In  numbering  the  sections  the  first  (or  unit)  figure  was 
carried  from  1  to  6  and  each  represented  a  treatment.  The  second 
(or  ten)  figure,  from  0  to  5,  indicated  the  location  of  the  section  in 
the  house.  The  arrangement  of  the  sections  alternated  progressively. 

The  soil  used  during  these  years  was  of  the  same  type  and  was 
prepared  in  the  same  manner  as  that  described  on  page  512.  Fertilizers 
were  applied  in  1913-14  in  the  amounts  given  in  Table  15. 

The  whole  of  the  manure  and  the  potassium  sulfate  was  applied 
at  the  time  of  preparation  of  the  soil  (August  4,  1913).  One-third  of 
the  amount  of  acid  phosphate  and  ammonium  sulfate  was  applied  at 
this  time,  also,  with  another  third  on  November  30,  1913,  and  the  re- 
mainder on  April  14,  1914.  Limestone  was  used  for  top-dressings  on 
August  9,  1913,  and  March  4,  1914. 

and  clovers.  On  the  other  hand,  azaleas,  rhododendrons,  begonias,  lupines,  some 
grasses,  the  heaths,  gorse,  broom,  foxglove,  vetches,  etc.  [Ibid  and  Abs.  Jour. 
Chem.  Soc.  (Lond.)  II  (1909)  429]  have  been  found  by  experiment  or  experience 
of  gardeners  to  grow  better  in  acid  soils.  Lime  or  limestone  is  often  recommended 
for  roses,  carnations,  and  chrysanthemums,  yet,  so  far  as  the  author  is  aware, 
there  is  no  extensive  experimental  work  proving  that  it  is  a  benefit  to  these  crops. 
JIn  1913-14  a  small  amount  of  manure  was  applied. 


1917] 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  ROSES 


543 


TABLE  15. — APPLICATIONS  OF  FERTILIZERS  TO  ROSES,  1913-14 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space1) 


Section 

Manure 

Ammonium 
sulfate 

A.cid 
phosphate 

Potassium 
sulfate 

Limestone* 

1-1 
1-2 
1-3 
1-4 
1-5 
1-6 

115 
115 
115 
115 
115 
115 

15 
15 
15 
15 
15 
15 

0 

10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 

10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 

^Pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space  multiplied  by  2  gives  approximate 
pounds  per  100  cubic  feet,  and  when  divided  by  5  gives  the  application  in  tons 
per  acre. 

'Applied  to  alternate  series  only,  viz.,  -0—,  -2-,  -4-. 

In  addition  to  obtaining  the  data  regarding  the  production  of 
flowers  and  their  quality,  which  were  secured  during  1913-14,  it  was 
observed  that  the  end  sections,  to  which  no  fertilizer  except  manure 
had  been  applied,  grew  plants  up  to  the  middle  of  the  winter  with  no 
signs  of  nitrogen  starvation,  which  can  be  so  easily  detected  by  the 
unhealthy  growth  and  the  yellow  color  of  the  foliage.  The  second  ap- 
plication of  ammonium  sulfate  (November  30,  1913)  was  soon  followed 
by  a  prolonged  period  of  cloudy  weather.  While  no  signs  of  injury 
were  noticed  on  the  well-developed  foliage,  the  young  growth,  which 
came  on  about  January  1,  showed  marked  chlorosis  (whitening)  of  the 
leaflets,  and  in  many  cases  drooping  and  blackening  at  the  ends  of 
the  young  shoots.  This  is  to  be  distinguished  from  the  dropping  of 
leaves  as  a  result  of  a  disturbance  of  the  root  system,  which  has  been 
observed  to  follow  too  deep  cultivation,  but  which  affects  the  oldest 
leaves  first,  while  injury  from  overfeeding  reaches  the  tender,  most 
rapidly  growing  portions  of  the  plant.  As  a  result  of  overfeeding 
with  ammonium  sulfate  at  this  time,  no  accurate  records  were  secured 
during  the  midseason  of  the  year.  Tests  made  upon'  the  soil  at  the 
time  of  the  second  top-dressing  of  limestone  (March  4,  1914)  showed 
the  soil  to  be  quite  acid  at  any  depth  greater  than  one-half  inch  below 
the  surface.  In  the  upper  half-inch  the  soil  seemed  acid  or  neutral, 
depending  on  the  evenness  of  the  previous  application  of  limestone. 
It  was  evident  that  top-dressings  with  limestone  had  not  corrected  acid- 
ity in  that  portion  of  the  soil  penetrated  by  the  roots.  The  top-dress- 
ing with  acid  phosphate  caused  a  wide-spread  surface  growth  of  roots, 
instead  of  a  more  desirable  penetration  of  the  entire  soil  by  the  root 
system. 

In  fertilizing  the  soil  for  the  experiment  of  1914-15,  the  am- 
monium sulfate  was  applied  on  July  8,  1914  and  April  27,  1915, 
omitting  the  midwinter  application ;  limestone  was  worked  into  the  soil 
before  setting  in  the  plants,  in  addition  to  a  top-dressing  in  the  spring, 
while  in  Sections  2,  3,  and  4  of  each  series,  two-thirds  of  the  acid 


544 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


phosphate  was  worked  into  the  soil  before  setting  in  the  plants.  No 
potassium  sulfate  was  used.  The  schedule  of  fertilizers  is  given  in 
Table  16. 

TABLE  16. — APPLICATIONS  OF  FERTILIZERS  TO  KOSES,  1914-15 
(Pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space) 


Section 

Manure 

Ammonium 
&ulfate 

Acid 
phosphate1 

Limestone* 

1-1 
1-2 
1-3 
1-4 
1-5 
1-6 

115 
115 
115 
115 
115 
115 

10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 

Applied  July  8,  December  21,  and  April  27  to  Sections  1-5  and  1-6;  on  July 
8  and  April  27  to  Sections  1-2,  1-3,  and  1-4. 
'Applied  only  to  series  -0-,  -2-,  -4-. 

The  growth  of  the  roses  was  satisfactory  thruout  the  year  except- 
ing that,  judging  from  the  color  of  the  plants,  the  last  application 
of  ammonium  sulfate  should  have  been  made  about  a  week  earlier. 

Records  for  both  years  (1913-14,  1914-15)  were  taken  daily, 
excepting  Sunday,  upon  the  number  of  flowers  produced  in  each  sec- 
tion and  the  stem  length  of  each  flower.  They  were  also  grouped  into 
classes  according  to  stem  length,  firsts  being  those  with  a  stem  length 
over  18  inches;  seconds,  12  to  18  inches;  thirds,  6  to  12  inches;  and 
fourths,  under  6  inches.  The  roses  in  Sections  1  and  6  of  each  set 
were  allowed  to  remain  on  the  plant  until  fully  open,  and  the  size 
of  each  was  measured,  in  order  to  test  the  effect  of  acid  phosphate  on 
the  length  of  the  petals  of  the  flowers. 

ON  THE  ACCURACY  OF  THE  RESULTS 

Record  was  kept  of  the  number  and  stem  length  of  the  flowers  pro- 
duced by  each  plant  in  Sections  123  and  134  (Richmond)  and  Sec- 
tions 124  and  133  (Killarney)  during  the  approximate  periods  from 
November  1  to  June  1,  1913-14,  and  from  October  1  to  June  1,  1914-15. 
The  results  are  given  in  Table  17.  Plants  1  to  8  were  own-root  and 
Plants  9  to  16  grafted  stock  in  each  case. 

The  data  in  Table  17  were  used  for  determining  to  what  extent 
differences  between  the  results  from  sections  compared  were  due  to 
the  variation  in  production  of  individual  plants  and  not  to  the  influ- 
ence of  the  treatment.  It  is  necessary  to  assume  that  the  variation 
among  plants  in  the  moderately  fertilized  sections  is  repre- 
sentative of  that  in  other  sections,  that  is,  that  neither  low 
nor  high  fertilizing  affected  the  variability  in  production  among  the 
plants.  The  maximum  standard  deviation  obtained  from  any  set  of 


1917} 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  SOSES 


545 


TABLE  17. — INDIVIDUAL  PRODUCTION  BY  EOSE  PLANTS 


Killarney 

Eichmond 

Plant 

Number  of  flowers 

Plant 

Number  of  flowers 

No. 

Section  133 

Section  124 

No. 

Section  134 

Section  123 

1913-14  |1914-15 

1913-14  1  1914-15 

1913-14 

1914-15 

1913-14  11914-15 

1 

32            43 

26 

45 

1 

29 

32 

8 

32 

2 

19 

37 

19 

14 

2 

17 

15 

14 

23 

3 

19 

27 

17 

35 

3 

11 

25 

17 

22 

4 

16 

47 

24 

39 

4 

22 

17 

13 

25 

5 

22 

44 

29 

42 

5 

15 

26 

23 

31 

6 

'  20 

27 

24 

37 

6 

13 

22 

15 

15 

7 

15 

25 

14 

29 

7 

23 

15 

18 

27 

8 

23 

60 

19 

28 

8 

16 

32 

10 

27 

Total 

Total 

(own- 

(own- 

root) 

166 

310 

172 

269 

root) 

146 

184 

118 

202 

9 

38 

35 

29 

39 

9 

40 

30 

21 

49 

10 

18 

42 

25 

33 

10 

24 

37 

25 

26 

11 

36 

32 

18 

45 

11 

19 

34 

20 

34 

12 

31 

40 

34 

28 

12 

41 

34 

27 

30 

13 

34 

30 

46 

51 

13 

30 

43 

29 

40 

14 

20 

38 

30 

41 

14 

42 

38 

30 

29 

15 

27 

32 

18 

27 

15 

26 

25 

19 

26 

16 

19 

39 

24 

47 

16 

26 

46 

34 

29 

Total 

Total 

(grafted) 

223 

288 

224 

311 

(grafted) 

248 

287 

205 

263 

NOTE. — These  sections  were  chosen  because  they  received  moderate  applications  of  acid 
phosphate. 

32  plants  is  only  1.09  higher  than  the  standard  deviation  found  by 
grouping  the  four  sets  of  32  each,  and  the  minimum  from  any  set  of 
32  plants  is  3.9  lower  than  the  standard  deviation  from  the  combined 
group.  It  would  thus  seem  reasonable  that  in  using  10.68  for  a  stand- 
ard deviation  to  predict  a  probable  error  for  the  entire  experiment, 
the  prediction  would  tend  to  be  too  large  rather  than  too  small.  If 
resulting  differences  are  found  significant  under  a  criterion  which 
used  values  too  large  for  the  probable  error,  the  differences  would  be 
all  the  more  significant  with  a  more  accurate  estimate.  While  the 
accuracy  that  might  have  been  secured  by  an  individual  record  of 
production  for  each  plant  is  not  to  be  had  after  these  assumptions, 
the  figure  for  probable  error  thus  secured  is  an  indication  of  the  relia- 
bility of  the  results. 

The  frequency .  distribution  for  each  variety  of  root  stock 
is  shown  in  Table  18,  which  contains  also  the  arithmetical  means 
and  their  probable  errors,  the  standard  deviations,  and  the  coeffi- 
cients of  variability1.  The  frequency  distribution  for  Killarney  and 
Richmond  roses  is  shown  graphically  in  Fig.  26. 

Calculations  are  made  according  to  methods  described  in  111.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta. 
Bui.  119  (1907),  and  Jpur.  Agr.  Sci.  vol.  3   (1910),  p.  417. 


546 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


TABLE  18. — FREQUENCY  DISTRIBUTION  OF  BOSE  PRODUCTION,  1913-1915 


Bichmond 

Killarney 

Total 

No.  of 

flowers 

Number  of  plants 

No.  of 
flowers 

Number  of  plants 

Own-root  |  Grafted 

Both 

Own-root  |  Graf  ted  |    Both 

7-14 
15-21 
22-28 
29-35 
36-42 
43-49 

6 
10 
11 
5 

4 
8 
11 
6 
3 

6 
14 
19 
16 
6 
3 

6-15 
16-25 
26-35 
36-45 
46-55 
56-65 

3 

12 

8 
7 
1 
1 

7 
13 

9 
3 

3 
19 
21 

16 
4 

1 

14 
39 
45 
23 
6 
1 

M 

20.80 

30.60 

25.70 

28.10 

32.50 

30.30 

27.70 

E 

±.81 

-K99 

+.75 

±1.39 

+  1.13 

-K89 

±.63 

D 

6.88 

8.36 

8.93 

11.77 

9.16 

10.68 

10.68 

G 

33.10 

27.30 

33.70 

41.90 

28.10 

35.30 

38.60 

E' 

±45.50 

±55.30 

±41.70 

±77.70 

±60.60 

±50.00 

±35.30 

NOTE. — The    following   abbreviations    are    used:     M   (Mean);    E 
Error);  D  (Standard  Deviation);  and  C  (Coefficient  of  Variability). 


(Probable 


The  production  by  any  two  treatments  is  nearly  enough  the  same 
that  a  probable  error  (E')  for  use  in  a  comparison  of  them  may  be 
secured  by  multiplying  the  corresponding  E  of  Table  18  by  V2  and 
dividing  by  the  square  root  of  the  number  of  plants  from  which  data 
were  secured  for  the  comparison.  Since,  in  the  succeeding  tables,  the 
production  of  all  plants  in  a  single  treatment  (48)  is  used  as  a  basis 


Z4 


n 


Killarney 


~>     $ 

?>      j? 
^i     ^ 


Richmond 


Number  off/overs 
FIG.  26, — FREQUENCY  DISTRIBUTION  OF  PRODUCTION,  1913-1915 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  ROSES 


547 


Z80 


\ 


180 


loo 


\ 


Kiltarney 


/        Z        3       4       5       6       7       8       9       10       II       IS      13 
Length  of  Stems  in  Inches 


/s     /6     17     /a    t9    eo   sr 
FIG.  27. — FREQUENCY  DISTRIBUTION  OF  STEM  LENGTH  IN  KILLARNEY  ROSES 


6       10 


14      16      18      20 
Lengfh  of  Stems  in  /nches 


26     36     30      JZ     34 


FIG.  28.- — FREQUENCY  DISTRIBUTION  OF  STEM  LENGTH  IN  RICHMOND  ROSES 


548 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


for  comparison,  the  value  for  E'  so  secured  is  multiplied  by  48  in 
order  to  obtain  a  probable  error  expressed  in  the  same  unit  as  the 
values  to  be  compared.  Thus,  if  the  difference  in  production  per  48 
plants  in  two  treatments  of  48  plants  each  amounted  to  45.5  flowers 
(own-root  Richmond),  the  chances  would  be  even  that  the  difference 
resulted  from  the  treatments  given  the  series  and  not  from  variation 
in  productivity  of  the  plants  chosen  for  the  experiment.  In  the  case 
of  the  combined  data  from  both  varieties  and  types  of  root  stock, 
which  were  secured  from  192  plants  in  each  treatment,  the  probable 
error  in  comparison  of  average  production  per  48  plants  amounts 
to  35.3  flowers. 

The  frequency  distribution  of  stem  length  of  the  flowers  produced 
(Figs.  27  and  28)  is  given  in  Table  19,  which  also  presents  the  mean 
stem  lengths  with  their  probable  errors,  the  standard  deviations,  and 
the  coefficients  of  variability.  E'  (season)  and  E'  (year)  are  calcu- 
lated upon  a  basis  of  comparison  between  two  sets  of  400  flowers  and 
1,200  flowers  respectively,  these  being  the  approximate  productions 
for  the  season  and  the  year. 

The  results  calculated  for  probable  errors  indicate  that  in  com- 
paring two  series  of  plants  (48  plants  each)  which  have  received  dif- 
ferent applications  of  fertilizer,  the  difference  in  average  stem  length 
of  flowers  must  equal  from. 117  to  .258  inches,  depending  on  the  variety 


FIG.  29- 


-TYPES  OF  CURVES  INDICATING  THE  EFFECT  OF  FERTILIZER  APPLICATIONS 
UPON  FLOWER  PRODUCTION 


1917] 


549 


TABLE  19. — FREQUENCY  STEM-LENGTH  DISTRIBUTION  OF  ROSES 


Stem 

Number  of  flowers 

length 

Killarney 

Richmond 

Tntal 

(inches) 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Both 

Own-root  |  Grafted 

Both 

LOMU 

.6-1.5 

.  .  . 

0 

1 

1 

1 

1.6-2.5 

1 

"3 

"4 

2 

8 

10 

14 

2.6-3.5 

7 

13 

20 

19 

29 

48 

68 

3.6-4.5 

14 

23 

37 

30 

51 

81 

118 

4.6-5.5 

26 

32 

58 

67 

78 

145 

203 

5.6-6.5 

60 

63 

123 

58 

66 

124 

247 

6.6-7.5 

71 

80 

151 

47 

81 

128 

279 

7.6-8.5 

79 

95 

174 

48 

79 

127 

301 

8.6-9.5 

95 

135 

230 

38 

60 

98 

328 

9.6-10.5 

107 

130 

237 

46 

70 

116 

353 

10.6-11.5 

86 

126 

212 

44 

68 

112 

324 

11.6-12.5 

94 

95 

189 

54 

78 

132 

321 

12.6-13.5 

66 

94 

160 

25 

67 

92 

252 

13.6-14.5 

69 

66 

135 

37 

75 

112 

247 

14.6-15.5 

44 

37 

81 

26 

59 

85 

166 

15.6-16.5 

28 

17 

45 

22 

43 

65 

110 

16.6-17.5 

21 

15 

36 

18 

28 

46 

82 

17.6-18.5 

13 

9 

22 

16 

21 

37 

59 

18.6-19.5 

5 

4 

9 

15 

20 

35 

44 

19.6-20.5 

8 

2 

10 

9 

9 

18 

28 

20.6-21.5 

6 

2 

8 

8 

11 

19 

27 

21.6-22.5 

3 

2 

5 

13 

4. 

17 

22 

22.6-23.5 

1 

1 

2 

7 

2 

9 

11 

23.6-24.5 

0 

0 

0 

8 

3 

11 

11 

24.6-25.5 

1 

1 

2 

3 

2 

5 

7 

25.6-26.5 

0 

0 

0 

3 

0 

3 

3 

26.6-27.5 

1 

0 

1 

2 

2 

4 

5 

27.6-28.5 

.  .  . 

0 

1 

1 

1 

28.6-29.5 

1 

0 

1 

1 

29.6-30.5 

... 

.  .  . 

0 

0 

0 

0 

30.6-31.5 

... 

... 

1 

0 

1 

1 

Total 

906 

1045 

1951 

667 

1016 

1638 

3634 

M 

10.7500 

10.2100 

10.4600 

10.830 

10.520 

10.6500 

10.5500 

E 

±.1130 

-K0960 

±.0740 

±.199 

±.140 

±.1140 

-K0660 

D 

3.6300 

3.3300 

3.4700 

5.480 

4.740 

5.0100 

4.2600 

C 

33.6000 

32.8000 

33.2000 

50.600 

45.100 

47.0000 

40.3000 

E'(  Season) 

±.1730 

±.1590 

±.1170 

±.258 

±.227 

-K1690 

±.1030 

E'  (Year) 

±.0998 

+.0918 

+.0676 

±.151 

±.131 

±.0974 

±.0586 

or  type  compared  (see  Table  19)  before  the  chances  become  equal  that 
the  difference  is  not  due  to  the  error  inherent  in  a  comparison  of  two 
averages  secured  from  the  measurement  of  a  limited  number  of  flow- 
ers. In  comparing  the  average  stem  length  of  a  year's  production 
from  two  treatments  or  in  the  combined  data  from  the  different  vari- 
eties and  types  of  root  stock,  the  probable  error  is  decreased  because 
of  the  larger  number  of  flowers  used  in  making  the  comparison. 

It  was  thought  likely  that  a  simple  relation  could  be  secured  be- 
tween the  relative  production  of  the  sections  and  their  positions  in 
the  house,  on  account  of  unequal  conditions  of  temperature  and  humid- 


550 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


ity  at  different  places  in  the  house.  The  study  of  these  conditions 
proved  more  complex  than  a  simple  drop  in  temperature  and  rise  in 
relative  humidity  toward  the  exposed  end  of  the  house,  however,  and 
no  progressive  rise  or  drop  in  production  in  the  series  could  be  ob- 
tained. 

In  interpreting  the  results  from  a  series  of  sections  upon  which 
successively  increasing  amounts  of  acid  phosphate  had  been  applied, 
a  curve  of  one  of  five  types  would  be  expected,  as  shown  in  Fig.  29. 
A  curve  of  the  first  type  would  indicate  that  neither  benefit  nor 
injury  resulted  from  application  of  the  fertilizer;  of  the  second, 
injury;  of  the  third,  continued  benefit  up  to  the  maximum  applica- 
tion according  to  Mitscherlich 's  Law  of  Diminishing  Returns1;  of 
the  fourth,  benefit  up  to  a  certain  maximum  application,  with  neither 
increased  yield  nor  decrease  from  injury  with  greater  amounts;  of 
the  fifth,  increased  yield  up  to  a  maximum,  with  a  decrease  thereafter 
due  to  injury  from  overapplication  of  the  fertilizer. 

EFFECT  OF  ACID  PHOSPHATE  ON  WEEKLY  AND  YEARLY 

PRODUCTION 

A  record  of  the  data  secured  from  the  experiment,  arranged  in 
seasons,  and  totaled  for  the  year,  is  given  in  Table  20  for  1913-14, 
and  in  Table  21  for  1914-15.  In  Table  20  the  records  of  the  second 
season  are  not  included,  except  in  the  totals,  since  the  roses  were 
injured  during  the  greater  part  of  the  season  by  overfeeding  with 
ammonium  sulfate. 


TABLE  20. — NUMBER  OF  FLOWERS  PRODUCED,  1913-14 
(Average  per  48  plants) 


Section 

Acid 
phosphate 
(Ibs.per  100  sq.ft.) 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Season  I  |  Season  III  |  Year 

Season  I  |  Season  III  )  Year 

Killarney 


1 

0 

358 

493 

1065 

428 

616 

1308 

2 

10 

390 

619 

1233 

470 

708 

1460 

3 

20 

369 

620 

1241 

520 

760 

1599 

4 

40 

382 

650 

1264 

529 

793 

1594 

5 

80 

405 

645 

1300 

478 

811 

1584 

6 

160 

385 

612 

1244 

472 

790 

1549 

Eichmond 


1 

0 

467 

479 

1085 

571 

697 

1450 

2 

10 

487 

565 

1175 

583 

814 

1581 

3 

20 

472 

605 

1219 

624 

845 

1674 

4 

40 

466 

631 

1239 

603 

867 

1722 

5 

80 

484 

650 

1284 

555 

819 

1567 

6 

160 

470 

553 

1181 

535 

798 

1549 

Russell,  Soil  Conditions  and  Plant  Growth  (1912),  page  24  (Longmans,  Green, 
and  Company,  Monographs  on  Biochemistry). 


1917] 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  EOSES 


551 


TABLE  21. — NUMBER  AND  QUALITY  OF  FLOWERS  PRODUCED,  1914-15 


Section 

Acid 
phosphate 
(Ibs.  per 
100  sq.  ft.) 

Production  of  flowers1 
(per  48  plants) 

Aver- 
age 
size  of 
flowers2 

Stem  length 

Total 
number 

1st 

-  2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Total 

Aver- 
age 

Own-root  Killarney 


Season  I 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 

80 
160 

467 
497 
537 
512 
555 
495 

percent 
0.8 
0.8 
1.2 
1.5 
1.8 
1.0 

percent 
23.8 
30.3 
29.0 
28.4 
29.4 
23.5 

percent 
63.1 
60.1 
64.0 
63.6 
59.9 
62.1 

percent 
12.2 
8.8 
5.7 
6.4 
9.1 
13.5 

inches 
4.53 

4.51 

inches 
4476 
..5037 
5595 
5232 
5729 
4708 

inches 
9.58 
10.13 
10.41 
10.22 
10.32 
9.51 

Season  II 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

318 
370 
382 
380 
391 
326 

2.5 
4.0 
4.7 
3.4 
4.1 
1.8 

37.8 
41.9 
43.2 
38.7 
39.0 
35.0 

57,0 
52.7 
51.4 
54.5 
53.8 
56.0 

2.8 
1.3 
.7 
3.4 
2.1 
6.1 

4.48 
4.35 

3637 
4408 
4498 
4346 
4548 
3579 

11.43 
11.91 
11.25 
11.43 
11.63 
10.97 

Season  III 

1 
2 
3 

4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

547 
585 
678 
616 
644 
564 

2.2 
1.2 
2.6 
4.2 
3.5 
1.6 

30.8 
35.4 
36.1 
33.4 
37.9 
29.4 

62.1 
63.6 
58.7 
59.4 
56.9 
61.9 

4.7 
3.5 
3.3 
3.4 
2.1 
4.4 

4.23 
4.25 

5906 
6211 
7606 
6875 
7323 
5994 

10.79 
10.61 
11.21 
11.16 
11.43 
10.62 

Year 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 

80 
160 

1332 
1452 
1598 
1508 
1590 
1385 

1.8 

1.8 
2.7 
3.1 
3.0 
1.4 

30,0 
35.0 
35.4 
33.1 
36.4 
28.6 

61.2 
60.5 
57.8 
59.0 
56.5 
64.5 

6.9 
4.8 
3.5 
4.4 
4.5 
8.8 

4.39 
4.37 

14020 
15656 
17699 
16454 
17600 
14282 

10.52 
10.78 
11.07 
10.91 
11.07 
10.31 

Grafted  Killarney 

Season  I 

1 

2 
3 

4 
5 
6 

0 

10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

600 
608 
604 
579 
598 
639 

0.3 
0.1 
0.9 
0.3 
0.1 
0.0 

25.0 
22.9 
24.4 
20.6 
18.4 
13.0 

65.1 
67.1 
64.5 
70.8 
70.0 
73.2 

9.3 
9.8 
10.2 
8.6 
11.7 
13.9 

4.47 
4.50 

5890 
6012 
5898 
5544 
5527 
5533 

9.81 
9.88 
9.76 
9.58 
9.24 
8.66 

Season  II 


1 

0 

378 

1.0 

32.9 

63.5 

2.7 

4.38 

4117 

10.89 

2 

10 

401 

2.2 

32.2 

63.7 

1.9 

4452 

11.10 

3 

20 

448 

2.7 

39.0 

55.4 

2.9 

5083 

11.34 

4 

40 

446 

1.8 

39.4 

56.2 

2.6 

5040 

11.30 

5 

80 

455 

.6 

31.6 

69.5 

2.4 

4971 

10.95 

6 

160 

383 

.5 

30.6 

64.2 

3.7 

4.35 

4063 

10.61 

JFlowers  are  grouped  in  classes  as  follows:    1st,  length  18  inches  and  over;   2nd, 
12  to  18  inches;    3rd,  6  to  12  inches;    4th,  under  6  inches. 

2Size  was  determined  of  flowers  from  Sections  1  and  6  only,  • 


552 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


TABLE  21. — Continued 


Section 

Acid 
phosphate 
(Ibs.  per 
100  sq.  ft.) 

Production  of  flowers 
(per  48  plants) 

Aver- 
age 
size  of 
flowers 

Stem  length 

Total 
number 

1st 

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Total 

Aver- 
age 

Season  III 


percent 

percent 

percent 

percent 

inches 

inches 

inches 

1 

0 

668 

1.5 

29.6 

64.2 

4.4 

4.21 

6977 

10.44 

2 

10 

744 

1.6 

28.8 

65.8 

3.6 

7840 

10.53 

3 

20 

736 

1.7 

32.8 

61.9 

3.3 

8045 

10.93 

4              -40 

732 

1.3 

36.6 

58.1 

3.8 

8056 

11.00 

5 

80 

793 

1.1 

27.7 

66.8 

4.2 

8332 

10.50 

G 

160 

784 

.6 

22.7 

69.7 

7.1 

4.22 

7849 

10.01 

Year 

1 

0 

1646 

1.0 

28.7 

64.6 

5.8 

4.34 

16985 

10.32 

2 

10 

1753 

1.3 

27.5 

65.8 

5.4 

18304 

10.44 

3 

20 

1788 

1.7 

31.5 

61.3 

5.6 

19027 

10.64 

4 

40 

1757 

1.1 

31.9 

61.8 

5.1 

18640 

10.61 

5 

80 

1846 

.7 

25.7 

62.4 

6.2 

18831 

10.20 

6 

160 

1806 

.4 

21.0 

69.9 

8.8 

4.35 

17445 

9.66 

Own-root  Richmond 


Season  I 


1 

0 

429 

2.7 

21.4 

53.8 

21.6 

3.65 

3951 

9.21 

2 

10 

431 

7.6 

21.5 

50.9 

19.9 

4334 

10.05 

3 

20 

511 

4.2 

25.3 

50.5 

20.2 

4983 

9.75 

4 

40 

501 

6.3 

22.2 

49.5 

22.0 

4899 

9.78 

5 

80 

485 

4.7 

20.4 

51.2 

23.8 

4532 

9.34 

6 

160 

518 

5.2 

24.7 

50.5 

19.8 

3.65 

4998 

9.64 

Season  II 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

225 
254 
279 
273 
236 
270 

10.2 
12.6 
9.2 
16.7 
13.5 
13.3 

38.2 
43.7 
43.0 
41.2 
41.2 
40.8 

41.7 
36.6 
41.7 
35.2 
35.5 
36.6 

9.7 
7.0 
5.7 
6.9 
10.1 
9.3 

3.60 
3.76 

2645 
3176 
3376 
3525 
2906 
3352 

11.76 
12.50 
12.10 
12.91 
12.31 
12.41 

Season  III 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

412 
419 
492 
443 
417 
462 

15.2 
12.8 
13.6 
15.3 
16.7 
10.3 

21.3 
32.6 
28.8 
29.3 
33.5 
30.9 

40.7 
40.5 
43.2 
41.5 
39.0 
44.5 

22.5 
13.8 
14.2 
13.7 
10.5 
14.0 

3.65 
3.83 

4633 
4963 
5808 
5313 
5215 
5278 

11.24 
11.84 
11.80 
11.99 
12.50 
11.42 

Year 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

1066 
1104 
1282 
1217 
1138 
1250 

9.4 
10.8 
9.7 
12.0 
11.0 
8.9 

24.8 
30.9 
30.4 
29.1 
29.5 
30.5 

46.1 
43.7 
45.8 
43.5 
43.4 
45.3 

19.1 
14.7 
14.8 
15.6 
16.1 
15.4 

3.64 
3.83 

11230 
12474 
14168 
13738 
12655 
13628 

10.53 
11.29 
11.05 
11.20 
11.12 
10.90 

Grafted  Richmond 

Season  I 

1 
2 
3 
•4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

490 
603 
630 
617 
603 
590 

7.7 
7.1 
7.4 
5.5 
5.8 
2.8 

30.6 
35.4 
28.0 
27.4 
27.2 
18.1 

47.8 
47.3 
51.2 
49.2 
51.5 
54.6 

14.3 
10.2 
13.5 
17.8 
15.5 
24.4 

3.71 
3.59 

5277 
6758 
6781 
6257 
6354 
5272 

10.77 
11.20 
10.76 
10.12 
10.36 
8.93 

NOTE. — See  footnotes  1  and  2,  page  551. 


1917] 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  ROSES 


553 


TABLE  21. — Concluded 


Section 

Acid 
phosphate 
(Ibs.  per 
100  sq.  ft.) 

Production  of  flowers 
(per  48  plants) 

Aver- 
age 
size  of 
flowers 

Stem  length 

Total 
number 

1st 

2nd 

3rd 

4th 

Total 

Aver- 
age 

Season  II 


percent 

percent 

percent 

percent 

inches 

inches 

inches 

1 

0 

347 

11.0 

43.6 

36.4 

8.9 

3.71 

4326 

12.46 

2 

10 

375 

10.4 

46.5 

37.8 

5.3 

4772 

12.72 

3 

20 

375 

15.2 

42.1 

36.2 

6.4 

4828 

12.87 

4 

40 

402 

8.7 

48.2 

35.0 

7.9 

4981 

12.38 

5 

80 

385 

12.2 

42.6 

36.0 

9.3 

4740 

12.31 

6 

160 

360 

6.1 

36.3 

44.1 

13.3 

3.71 

3988 

11.07 

Season  III 


1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

533 
615 
605 
656 
677 
638 

4.3 
8.5 
9.3 
8.1 
8.2 
4.6 

32.9 
36.3 
36.2 
36.1 
30.2 
28.2 

44.5 
42.0 
43.1 
41.5 
47.0 
46.0 

18.4 
12.8 
11.2 
13.2 
14.1 
21.9 

3.68 
3.76 

5451 
7014 
6935 
7426 
7486 
6438 

10.22 
11.40 
11.46 
11.32 
11.06 
10.09 

Year 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

1370 
1593 
1610 
1675 
1665 
1588 

7.2 
8.7 
9.9 
7.3 
8.5 
4.6 

34.7 
38.4 
34.4 
35.8 
32.1 
26.3 

43.6 
42.7 
43.7 
43.2 
46.4 
49.8 

14.5 
10.1 
11.0 
13.7 
13.5 
20.3 

3.70 
3.68 

15055 
18545 
18546 
18665 
18581 
15699 

10.98 
11.64 
11.51 
11.74 
11.16 
9.88 

NOTE. — See  footnotes  1  and  2,  page  551. 

EFFECT  OF  ACID  PHOSPHATE  ON  TOTAL  YIELD  OF  FLOWERS 

The  data  upon  the  effect  of  acid  phosphate  on  the  yield  of  flowers 
arc  arranged  graphically  in  Figs.  30  and  31.  The  curves  are  consistent 
in  showing  an  increased  production  as  a  result. of  the  smallest  applica- 
tion of  acid  phosphate,  the  tendency  toward  a  rise  being  the  least 
pronounced  in  the  first  season.  With  succeeding  applications  the 
results  are  more  or  less  definite  in  showing  a  smaller  proportional 
increase  up  to  the  largest  application,  when  a  decrease  is  shown,  as 
a  rule.  Since  the  curves  are  of  the  same  type  for  both  own-root  and 
grafted  stock  and  for  each  variety,  it  is  permissible  to  use  the  data 
for  both  years  and  all  types  of  plants  in  describing  a  curve  from  which 
to  draw  conclusions  applicable  equally  to  own-root  and  grafted  stock, 
and  to  Killarney  and  Richmond  varieties.  The  data  averaged  thus 
are  arranged  in  Table  22  (production  per  48  plants)  and  the  grand 
average  is  described  in  Fig.  31. 

The  excess  in  number  of  flowers  produced  in  Section  3  over  the 
yield  from  Section  1  (211  flowers  per  48  plants)  stands  in  the  ratio 

211 

of  -          (=6)   to  the  probable  error  obtained  from  the  data  given 
35.3 


554 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


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FIG.  30. — NUMBER  OF  EOSES  PRODUCED,  1913-14 


1917] 


USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  EOSES 


555 


in  Table  18.  A  difference  in  results  six  times  the  probable  error  cor- 
responds to  odds  of  19,200  to  I1  that  it  is  due  to  the  difference  in 
treatment  of  the  sections,  hence,  considerable  reliance  may  be  placed 
in  the  data  after  making  allowance  for  the  approximate  value  of  the 
probable  error. 

TABLE  22. — AVERAGE  YEARLY  PRODUCTION  OP  FLOWERS,  1913-15 


Section 

Acid 
phosphate 
(Ibs.  per 
100  sq.  ft.) 

Richmond 

Killarney 

Grand 
average 

1913-14 

1914-15 

Average 

1913-14 

1914-15 

Average 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

1267 
1378 
1446 
1480 
1425 
1365 

1218 
1348 
1446 
1446 
1401 
1419 

1242.5 
1363.0 
1446.0 
1463.0 
1413.0 
1392.0 

1186 
1346 
1420 
1429 
1442 
1396 

1489 
1602 
1693 
1632 
1718 
1595 

1337.5 
1474.0 
1556.5 
1530.5 
1580.0 
1495.5 

1290 
1418 
1501 
1497 
1496 
1444 

Two  points  are  clear  from  the  data.  Applications  of  acid  phos- 
phate up  to  20  pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space  (40  pounds 
per  100  cubic  feet)  cause  an  increase  in  the  number  of  roses  produced. 
Applications  up  to  four  times  this  amount  cause  neither  further  in- 
crease nor  decrease  in  production,  hence,  there  is  a  wide  difference 
between  the  minimum  quantity  of  acid  phosphate  that  should  be 
applied  to  produce  the  maximum  crop,  and  that  quantity  which  will 
cause  injury  from  overfeeding.  This  is  especially  important  since 
with  most  commercial  fertilizers  great  care  must  be  taken  not  to  ruin 
the  crop  by  excessive  applications. 

The  significance  of  these  results  is  perhaps  not  apparent  at  first 
glance.  Calculated  on  the  basis  of  1,000  plants,  an  excess  in  produc- 
tion of  4,400  flowers  is  obtained  by  the  use  of  250  pounds  of  acid 
phosphate.  This  fertilizer  costs  at  the  present  time  about  fifteen  dol- 
lars per  ton,  while  a  conservative  price  for  roses  of  the  quality  obtained 
(averaging  about  an  11-inch  stem)  is  four  dollars  per  hundred.  The 
cost  of  fertilizer  and  of  the  labor  to  mix  it  with  the  soil  are  insignifi- 
cant compared  with  the  additional  profit  of  $176  per  1,000  plants 
obtained  by  its  use. 

EFFECT  OF  ACID  PHOSPHATE  ON  STEM  LENGTH  AND  SIZE 

The  results  of  fertilization  with  acid  phosphate  upon  total  stem 
length  are  similar  to  those  upon  the  number  of  flowers  produced 
(see  Table  21),  that  is,  an  increase  with  all  applications  excepting  the 
heaviest,  which  caused  a  slight  decrease.  The  relative  increase  and 
decrease  of  the  two  characters  are  not  quite  the  same,  however,  as  seen 

'111.  Agr.  Exp.  Sta.  Bui.  119,  p.  15. 


556 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


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FIG.  31. — NUMBER  OF  EOSES  PRODUCED,  1914-15 

in  the  figures  for  average  length  of  stem1.  These  bring  out  the  fact 
that  the  average  as  well  as  total  length  of  stem  increases  when  acid 
phosphate  is  used  as  a  fertilizer,  unless  in  excessive  amounts,  so  that 
quality  as  well  as  production  is  benefited. 

No  influence  of  fertilizing  is  seen  upon  the  percentage  of  flowers 
in  Classes  1,  2,  3,  and  4,  grouped  according  to  the  length  of  stem. 
While  the  average  stem  length  may  be  increased  slightly  upon  increas- 

1The  differences,  while  small,  are  well  beyond  the  experimental  error  calculated 
in  Table  19  and  so  are  considered  significant. 


1917]  USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  EOSES  557 

ing  the  production  by  the  use  of  acid  phosphate,  no  marked  increase 
in  the  number  of  long-stemmed  flowers  is  to  be  expected.  Attention 
may  be  called,  at  this  point,  to  the  larger  percentage  of  long-stemmed 
flowers  in  the  Richmond  variety  than  in  Killarneys,  particularly  of 
own-root  stock.  It  is  worthy  of  mention  that  own-root  stock,  while 
producing  fewer  flowers,  does  yield  as  long-stemmed  and  as  long- 
petaled  roses  as  grafted  stock. 

No  consistent  relation  is  to  be  found  between  the  difference  in 
average  size  of  the  flowers  from  Sections  1  (no  acid  phosphate)  and  6 
(large  amount  of  acid  phosphate)  and  the  difference  in  their  ferti- 
lization. Since  no  figure  for  probable  error  has  been  obtained,  it  is 
impossible  to  attribute  the  existing  differences  to  the  treatment  rather 
than  difficulties  of  measurement  and  inaccuracy  from  insufficient  num- 
ber of  flowers  for  comparison.  It  can  only  be  said  that  no  difference 
in  size*  of  roses  great  enough  to  be  apparent  in  these  records  is  obtained 
by  fertilizing  with  acid  phosphate. 

RELATION  OF  INCREASE  FROM  THE  USE  OF  ACID  PHOSPHATE  TO 
WEEKLY  PRODUCTION 

The  relation  of  the  increase  in  production  obtained  by  the  use 
of  acid  phosphate  is  shown  in  Figs.  32  to  35,  in  which  the  weekly  pro-' 
duction  of  flowers  upon  Section  1-1,  to  which  no  acid  phosphate  was 
applied,  and  upon  that  section  of  each  variety  and  type  of  root  stock 
giving  the  greatest  return  (Section  1-3,  1-4,  or  1-5),  was  used  in 
describing  the  graphs.  The  application  of  acid  phosphate  upon  the 
sections  chosen  for  comparison  with  Section  1-1  varied  from  20  to  80 
pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space  in  different  cases.  In  the 
figures,  numbers  of  flowers  are  used  as  ordinates  and  weeks  of  the  sea- 
sons as  abscissae.  A  curve  representing  the  combined  data  of  all  types 
of  plants  used  is  shown  in  Fig.  36.  It  is  unnecessary  to  comment  in 
detail  on  these  curves,  since  a  glance  at  them  shows  that  the  advantage 
from  the  use  of  acid  phosphate,  while  greatest  in  the  spring  as  the 
soil  is  depleted  of  its  original  supply  of  phosphate,  is  evident  thruout 
the  year.  Such  evidence  supports  that  found  in  the  previous  experi- 
ment (page  528)  based  on  results  from  the  use  of  smaller  quantities 
of  acid  phosphate. 

EFFECT  OF  LIMESTONE  ON  PRODUCTION  OF  FLOWERS 

A  comparison  of  the  number  of  flowers  produced  from  sections  to 
which  lime  had  been  applied  and  those  unlimed  for  the  year  1914-15,  is 
given  in  Table  23.  During  1913-14,  the  limestone,  applied  as  top- 
dressings,  did  not  penetrate  far  enough  beneath  the  surface  to  affect 
the  condition  of  the  soil  materially,  hence,  no  comparison  is  made 
for  the  production  of  that  year. 


558 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


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USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  EOSES 


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USE  OF  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  EOSES 


561 


TABLE   23. — EFFECT  OF  LIMESTONE  ON   PRODUCTION  OF  ROSES,   1914-15 
(Total  number  of  flowers) 


Lime 

No  Lime 

Killarney 

Richmond 

Killarney 

Richmond 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root 

Grafted 

Own-root 

Grafted 

4324 

5293 

3465 

4532 

4541 

5303 

3592 

4969 

9617 

7997 

9844 

8561 

17614 


18405 


It  is  evident  from  the  data  that  those  sections  receiving  no  lime- 
stone produced  more  flowers.  The  results  by  section  (representing 
a  treatment  with  acid  phosphate)  for  all  types  are  given  in  Table  24 
and  arranged  graphically  in  Fig.  37. 

In  comparison  of  yields  per  96  plants,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
have  a  difference  exceeding  70  flowers  (see  page  548)  in  order  to  draw 
accurate  conclusions.  This  difference  is  found  with  the  first  three 


3250 

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Section  and  Treatment  Number 
FIG.  37. — EFFECT  OF  LIMESTONE  ON  FLOWER  PRODUCTION,  1914-15 


562 


BULLETIN  No.  196 


[February, 


TABLE  24. — EFFECT  OF  LIMESTONE  ON  PRODUCTION  OF  ROSES,  1914-15 


Yield  per  96  i 

»lants 

Section 

(Pounds  per  100  square  feet) 

Lime 

No  lime 

Difference 
due  to  lime 

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 

0 
10 
20 
40 
80 
160 

2557 
2809 
3043 
3106 
3050 
3049 

2857 
3093 
3235 
3051 
3189 
2980 

-300 
-284 
-192 
+  55 
-139 
-f  69 

treatments  of  the  series.  Beyond  this,  the  results  are  not  conclusive. 
The  data  are  accurate,  however,  in  showing  a  loss  from  the  use  of  lime- 
stone with  acid  phosphate,  up  to  the  amounts  which  previous  consider- 
ations have  shown  to  be  the  maximum  quantity  it  is  advisable  to  apply. 

CONCLUSIONS  AND  RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  soil  used  in  the  experiments  described  in  the  preceding  pages 
was  a  brown  silt  loam.  A  description  of  the  various  soil  types  of 
Illinois,  with  their  total  content  of  the  important  fertilizing  elements, 
is  given  in  Bulletin  123  of  this  station,  with  the  location  of  these 
types.  Three  facts  are  especially  significant :  The  nitrogen  content 
of  the  different  soils  suitable  for  rose  growing  varies  from  1,870  to 
8,900  pounds  per  acre  (7  inches  deep)  and  plans  must  be  made  by 
those  florists  who  use  soils  of  a  type  poorer  in  nitrogen  than  the  brown 
silt  loam  to  increase  the  content  of  nitrogen  by  use  of  green  or  barn- 
yard manures  in  the  field,  by  heavier,  applications  of  manure  when 
mixing  the  soil  for  use  in  the  greenhouse,  and  by  more  frequent  appli- 
cations of  manure  or  commercial  nitrogenous  fertilizer  than  have  been 
used  in  this  experimental  work.  The  phosphorus  content  not  only  of 
brown  silt  loam  but  of  all  the  types  of  soil  is  low  compared  to  that  of 
the  other  elements,  and  the  results  from  the  experimental  work  here 
described  are  applicable  to  all.  Peaty  and  sandy  soils  are  low  in 
potassium  content  and  are  benefited  by  applications  of  this  kind  of 
fertilizer.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  necessity  for  having  a 
compact  soil  for  successful  rose  growing  would  prevent  the  use  of 
such  soils  for  that  purpose. 

KINDS  OF  FERTILIZER  NEEDED 

Applications  of  phosphatic  fertilizer  give  the  most  pronounced 
increase  in  the  production  of  roses.  Nitrogenous  fertilizer  also  is 
needed,  but  applications  of  potassium  sulfate  not  only  give  no 
increase  but  decrease  the  yield. 

(1)  Nitrogenous  Fertilizer. — The  need  for  nitrogenous  fertilizer 
is  particularly  urgent  after  the  turn  of  the  year  and  makes  itself 


;.('7?J  USE  OP  COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  IN  GROWING  ROSES  563 

apparent  by  the  lightening  of  the  color  of  the  foliage  that  is  associated 
bv  every  rose  grower  with  lack  of  plant  food.  This  characteristic  is 
a  better  guide  to  the  time  for  applying  nitrogenous  fertilizer  than  any 
rale.  The  florist  will  largely  do  away  with  danger  of  nitrogen  starva- 
tion by  enriching  the  soil  before  filling  the  benches  by  the  use  of 
green  manures  or  farmyard  manure  up  to  twenty  tons  per  acre  in  the 
field,  or  by  mixing  manure  with  the  soil  as  it  is  put  in  the  benches.  If 
the  need  for  nitrogen  is  apparent,  it  .may  be  supplied  by  liquid 
manuring,  by  mulching  with  rotted  manure,  or  by  applications  of 
dried  blood  at  the  rate  of  5  pounds  per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space 
not  oftener  than  six  weeks  apart.  The  nitrogen  contained  in  such  an 
application  is  equal  to  that  in  130  pounds  of  average  manure.  Am- 
monium sulf ate  and  sodium  nitrate,  while  satisfactory  sources  of  nitro- 
gen, require  too  great  care  to  prevent  overfeeding  to  allow  recom- 
mendation of  them  for  general  use.  Applications  of  nitrogenous  fer- 
tilizer should  be  lightest  during  periods  of  little  sunshine  arid  when 
the  plants  are  off  crop. 

(2)  PJiosphatic  Fertilizer. — Plants  do  not  show  marked  signs  of 
the  need  for  phosphorus,  and  records  of  production  alone  can  de- 
termine its  need.  Applications  of  acid  phosphate  up  to  20  pounds  per 
100  square  feet  of  bench  space  (40  pounds  per  100  cubic  feet  of  soil) 
have  been  found  to  give  marked  increases  in  production.  The  quantity 
of  phosphorus  contained  in  this  application  is  equal  to  that  contained 
in  an  application  of  2,800  pounds  of  manure  of  average  composition 
(50  percent  moisture)  to  100  square  feet  of  bench  space,  or  twice 
this  amount  mixed  with  100  cubic  feet  of  soil.  Since  manifestly  it 
is  impossible  to  use  such  a  mixture,  the  need  for  phosphorus  in  the 
form  of  a  commercial  fertilizer  is  evident.  Acid  phosphate  has  proved 
to  be  a  satisfactory  source  of  phosphorus,  but  no  comparison  has  been 
made  in  these  experiments  between  acid  phosphate  and  bone  meal, 
basic  slag,  and  other  phosphate-containing  fertilizers.  -  Since  the  benefit 
from  the  use  of  acid  phosphate  is  continuous  thru  out  the  year,  it  should 
be  mixed  with  the  soil  before  the  benches  are  filled.  Top-dressings 
with  it  are  not  so  satisfactory,  since  surface  root  groAvth  is  stimulated 
in  this  way,  resulting  in  the  roots  having  contact  with  the  soil  particles 
in  only  an  upper  layer  of  the  soil  in  the  bench.  There  is  no  danger  of 
overfeeding  with  acid  phosphate,  for  four  times  the  quantity  here 
recommended  has  been  applied  without  injury.  In  this  respect  acid 
phosphate  possesses  an  advantage  over  bone,  which 'cannot  be  mixed 
v.ith  soil  or  applied  as  top-dressings  in  excessive  amounts  without 
injuring  the  plants,  as  is  true  to  a  greater  extent  with  high  phosphate 
trnkage,  and  blood  and  bone. 

THE  USE  OF  LIME 

With  such  a  need  f»r  phosphorus  by  rose  plants,  the  use  of  lime 
or  limestone  in  intimate  contact  with  acid  phosphate  is  to  be  dis- 


564  BULLETIN  No.  196  [February, 

couraged,  since  the  solubility  of  the  phosphate  would  be  decreased  by 
its  use.  The  production  from  plants  in  soil  with  which  limestone  has 
been  mixed  is  lower  than  from  those  on  untreated  soil,  whether  or  not 
acid  phosphate  has  also  been  used,  hence,  mixing  lime  or  limestone 
with  the  soil,  tho  quite  a  common  practice  among  growers,  cannot  be 
recommended.  In  case  an  application  of  lime  is  needed  to  prevent 
the  growth  of  algse  and  moulds  on  the  soil  surface,  finely  ground  lime- 
stone applied  as  a  top-dressing  at  the  rate  of  10  pounds  per  100  square 
feet  of  bench  space  and  very  lightly  cultivated  into  the  surface  will 
accomplish  this  without  being  carried  down  into  the  soil  further  than 
an  inch  below  the  surface  during  the  year. 

BENEFITS  OF  FERTILIZING 

The  benefit  from  fertilizing  is  to  be  found  in  number  of  flowers 
produced  and  to  a  slight  extent  in  the  average  stem  length,  tho  not 
in  percentage  of  long-stemmed  flowers.  No  measureable  change  in 
length  of  petal  follows  fertilization  with  acid  phosphate. 

KIND  OF  STOCK  TO  PLANT 

The  experiments  recorded  in  this  bulletin  with  the  varieties  Kil- 
larney,  Bride,  and  Richmond  demonstrate  the  advisability  of  planting 
grafted  stock,  this  conclusion  being  drawn  from  a  record  of  production 
of  grafted  and  own-root  plants  of  first-year  stock. 

Recommendations 

(1)  Keep  up  the  nitrogen  content  of  the  soil  by  turning  under 
green  or  farm  manure  before  use.     If  roses  show  signs  of  nitrogen 
starvation — a  lightening  of  the  color  of  the  foliage — make  up  the  need 
with  applications  of  liquid  manure,  mulches  of  manure,  or  top-dress- 
ings of  dried  blood,  the  last  in  applications  not  exceeding  5  pounds 
per  100  square  feet  of  bench  space  and  applied  not  oftener  than  six 
weeks  apart.    Feed  only  during  sunshiny  weather  and  most  generously 
during  periods  of  heavy  production. 

(2)  Use  generous  quantities  of  acid  phosphate  in  the  soil.    It  may 
be  added  (a)  at  the  rate  of  4  to  8  tons  per  acre  in  the  field,  (b)  in 
a  compost  with  soil  at  the  rate  of  40  to  80  pounds  per  100  cubic  feet 
of  soil,  or  (c)  by'mixing  it  with  the  soil  at  the  same  rate  just  previous 
to  filling  the  benches. 

(3)  Do  not  mix  lime  or  limestone  with  the  soil.     If  needed  for 
sweetening  the  soil  and  for  preventing  the  growth  of  algge,  make  a 
top-dressing  of  finely  ground  limestone  at  the  rate  of  10  pounds  per 
100  square  feet  of  bench  space. 


tfl 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 


